


The Pressure

by FlyRobinFly



Series: Thiam ED verse [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Eating Disorders, Fluff, Good Theo Raeken, Graphic, Hallucinations, Hurt, Hurt Theo Raeken, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Theo Has An Eating Disorder, Vomiting, cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2019-06-26 04:59:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 66,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15656265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyRobinFly/pseuds/FlyRobinFly
Summary: The pressure of anxiety is too heavy on Theo, taking toles on him no one would have ever guessed. But even though the road to recover is a long, sometimes painful one, he'll make it through because of him.Because of his anchor.TRIGGER WARNING: Eating DisorderAlso warning: Leads to fluff





	1. Chapter 1

Liam's phone went off, vibrating against his mattress. Him and Theo had just gotten home from school and he'd completely exploded all over his room already. The contents of his backpack were already all over his floor and his bed. He picked up his phone to check the text.

_**Scott:** The pack is getting together at my house tonight. You can bring Theo if he wants to come._

If it had been a year ago, maybe Liam would have been excited. But recently, pack meetings have been backfiring, not for him but for Theo. Theo wasn't technically part of the pack but since he lived with Liam and was very useful to them sometimes, he was always invited. Theo, knowing he's useful and owes his life to Scott's pack, feels obligated to attend even if it means, a horrible night at home afterward.

Liam's noticed that no one in the pack ever really appreciates him. And pretty much every single time Theo is with the pack, he does something for them, something good. And every time he's repaid with a comment about his past, a reminder that he could never really be good.

Liam notices how it's slowly wearing on Theo.

Theo will go right to bed after driving home, wreaking of guilt, shame, sometimes even terror. Anxiety. He'll have nightmares. He's always quiet when he has nightmares but Liam can hear him. Especially, on the nights when he has to run to the bathroom to throw up from the stress of it all.

Liam doesn't know what to do.

He remembers being afraid after he'd seen the berserkers and even the Dread Doctors were terrifying. He remembers feeling alone and terrified. He should be able to help Theo, right? But why couldn't he?

Was it because his of his pack? Was he afraid of what they'd say if he helped Theo? He remembers the looks on their faces when they heard he'd given the Chimera a place to stay. They were all kind of shocked and... almost disapproving of his decision. He wished they'd just trust him. He wasn't just some little beta anymore. He'd come a long way.

Liam looks across the hall into Theo's room. He can't see much, but he can see Theo turning a shirt inside out before he pulls it over his head and lets out a frustrated sigh at how tight it is. As he pulls it off to find another shirt, Liam walks across the hall and leans against the door frame to look at his phone again. The next text alerting him what time he needs to be there.

_**Scott:** 5:30. Bring some chips._

Liam looks up at Theo again and the Chimera smiles at him. "Hey," Liam says watching as Theo grabs another shirt to try on.

"What's up, little wolf?" Theo asks as he tries on another shirt.

Liam hates to bring up a meeting with the pack right now. Theo is perfectly fine just standing there getting frustrated over how that one shirt was too tight. Recently, most of his shirts seemed a little looser than normal. Liam sighs. "Scott just texted me," Liam says and instantly regrets it. He can practically feel Theo's anxiety already. It's really sad to see him like that.

Theo freezes as if he's processing the comment. Then he picks up the shirt and tosses it to Liam. "I'm pretty sure this is yours."

Liam catches it and raises his eyebrows inquisitively. "Actually, I'm pretty sure it's Mason's cause it's too small for me too." Liam sees Theo's eyes rake over Liam as if he's confused. Had Theo not noticed he's a lot bulkier than when they first met? He honestly couldn' blame him if he did because he barely noticed himself.

"So what did Scott text you?" Theo asked to bring Liam out of his head.

"Um..." Liam cleared his throat. "There's a pack meeting tonight at 5:30 and he wants us to come." Liam watches Theo shift a little uncomfortably and stands up a little straighter. "You don't have to go if you don't want to.-"

"No," said Theo. "I want to go."

Liam doesn't know what to say when he hears Theo's heartbeat falter before it starts to elevate. "Theo... I know what it does to you. You don't have to put yourself through that-"

"Yes, I do, Liam," said Theo seriously looking at Liam. His eyes were glossy, his posture was defensive, already on high alert.

Liam sighed. "Fine," said Liam. "He wants us to bring chips so we'll have to go to the store first. Be ready by 5?"

"...yeah," Theo says and Liam just stands there for a moment before walking back to his room. Liam looked at the pigsty his room had become and let out an annoyed sigh. Hopefully, he would have time for homework after cleaned is room.

* * *

Theo had that stupid smug look on his face, but Liam could tell it was forced and unreal like he was masking his true feelings. And Liam knew he was because the only thing coming off of Theo was the smell of anxiety. Theo really didn't do well with Liam's pack, did he?

So far, it wasn't that bad. No one had really said much to Theo. Mason, who had grown used to the Chimera being around all the time and was slowly starting to trust and maybe even befriend him, actually greeted him with a smile. Everyone else pretty much pretended he didn't exist if it was possible. Except for Derek.

"So you're Theo?" Derek asked sounding civil.

Theo being the reformed evil guy he is, offered a hand. "And you're Derek Hale. I've heard about you but we've never officially met."

"I've heard about you too," Derek said with a smile on his face. But everyone watching knew it was a fake one, exaggerated. Liam saw Theo lower his hand as his shoulders tensed up. He looked like he wanted to run away from him, one foot scooting back so he was on his toes.

Derek punched him. "That's for all the shit you did," Derek said plainly before walking into the kitchen to help with things.

Liam walked over to where Theo was on the ground to help him up. He didn't make any sudden moves towards him though because Theo tended to be a bit jumpy. Understandably so. He gave Theo a napkin to wipe the blood off his face. Now Theo smelt even worse. Shame.

It all just kept getting worse from there too. Theo did something nice and they always threw it in his face. Scott, Corey, and Mason seemed to be the only truly civil people when it came to Theo. Most of the time at least. They just didn't talk much.

Liam noticed that Theo hardly ever talked when he was with the pack anymore. At first, he'd talked some but Liam supposed he'd learned it was better if he didn't say anything unless he was asked or it was polite. But that tended to backfire too. Theo just couldn't catch a break.

And that's why Liam didn't really want him to come.

After Liam couldn't take any more of watching Theo just let this happen to him, Liam grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him onto the back porch. "Theo..." Liam said sounding almost angry.

"What?" Theo whined. Figures he wasn't even phased by Liam being angry. At least Theo understood that he had him. Liam didn't even say anything. He just begged Theo with his eyes. Theo looked back inside the house and frowned before admitting tearfully. "I want to go home." It was so quiet and timid, Liam wasn't sure if anyone else would have believed it.

But he knew Theo better than anyone. And Theo needed to go home. "Then let's go," said Liam pulling on Theo by the arm towards the door. But Theo stayed planted where he was.

His eyes were staring straight ahead at nothing, wide with terror. His jaw was slightly slack. Completely frozen, heart stopped for a moment. Liam cringed. He hated to see Theo when this happened. It happened very occasionally and Liam wasn't even sure Theo was aware it ever happened. He blanked out for a moment. Not breathing, completely still. Just terrified.

And then he jolted back to reality. Liam knew he saw things.

"Theo," Liam coaxed his friend. "You alright?"

Theo looked at him and took a step back slowly shaking his head. "I don't want to go in there..." Liam bit his lip, sadly watching his friend.

But he nodded. "We'll go around the house then."

* * *

The drive home was tense at first, Theo anxious to get home. But driving always calmed him. It gave him control. Theo liked having control. When they got home, Theo was tense again. Liam felt so bad for the Chimera, so hard on himself. He was gonna make himself sick again. "Hey," said Liam as they made their way up the stairs towards their rooms. "You should stay with me tonight," said Liam gently caressing Theo's arm.

Liam didn't expect Theo to nod so eagerly, walking into Liam's room an making himself comfortable. Liam smiled. At least Theo trusted him. There was somewhere to start. Liam didn't want to prolong the process of getting to bed so he made it quick. Pretty soon, they were lying in bed next to each other, completely silent.

"Liam..." Theo said quietly, tentatively.

"Hm?"

"...Thank you."

Liam smiled and rolled on his side so he could see Theo. He was facing the ceiling and lying flat on his back. Liam reached his arm over Theo to pull the blankets up his chest a little bit before he leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on his friends head. "Get some sleep, OK?"

Theo nodded while he took in a long deep breath and let it out. "Goodnight," he said.

"Night," said Liam.

Liam watched Theo toss and turn for a while before they both fell asleep. Liam wasn't sure how long they were asleep before Liam was woken up. "No..." he heard the whimper. He opened his eyes and saw Theo tossing and turning. He sat up when Theo let out a horrible pained cry.

Blood.

Liam could smell blood.

He pulled back the blanket and found Theo's hand digging into his own chest like he was trying to rip out his heart. "...stop it..." Theo pleaded.

Liam could just let Theo do this to himself. He sat Theo up on the bed and had him propped against him. "Theo," he tried to coax him out of his dream.

Theo was still out of it. His head hung low and he mumbled, "Failure." Theo wreaked of anxiety, terror, despair. Pretty much every bad sent that could come off of a person was emanating from Theo and it was painful to see. Theo let out a choked noise and his body shook. He coughed almost falling forward putting his hands forward to catch himself. But he didn't fall. Instead he wretched.

Liam gasped. "Theo, hey, come on. Wake up," Liam practically pleaded the other boy. He knew Theo wasn't awake.

Theo looked at his hands, now covered in his own vomit. He coughed and choked some more before he whimpered and said coldly. "Death imminent."

"Boys, is everything o-" Liam's mother stopped in the doorway when she saw the shaking boy hunched over covered in his own vomit. "Oh no. Honey what's wrong-"

"Failure," Theo mumbled again, shivering. "Theo Raeken; failure."

Liam shook his head. "He's having a night terror, mom. I...I don't know what to do."

"It's ok," said Jenna. "Why don't you get him to the bathroom and help him get cleaned up? I'll get him something to drink for when he wakes up. You just keep him company."

Liam nodded and pulled Theo off of the bed, still mumbling about himself being a failure. Luckily, Theo was technically in the state of sleepwalking so Liam didn't actually have to carry him, just guided him to the bathroom. As soon as they entered, Theo threw up again. If he had waited two more seconds, he would have gotten it in the toilet but it's not like it was his fault. He wasn't even awake.

Liam tried his best to get Theo to the toilet without him stepping in the newly formed puddle on the floor. He helped a sobbing, shaking Theo sit on the floor in front of the toilet. Theo was still mumbling. "Failure..." He repeated himself over and over again. This time when he threw up, it actually went into the toilet. Liam was grateful for that. After a few minutes, Theo didn't have anything left to vomit up but he still kept dry heaving and coughing.

He did that for thirty whole minutes. In that time, Liam's mother had cleaned up both of Theo's messes and brought in blankets for the boys. Liam wouldn't leave his side. He knew Theo needed him there for as long as he was having this nightmare. He needed to be there when he woke up. Liam tried to talk to him but Theo wasn't there. He was just sitting there on the floor, mumbling about failure.

But then Theo finally said something else. "I know, Tara! I'm sorry!" he nearly shouted it as tears streamed down his face. He then started to hyperventilate, trying to repeat the word 'sorry' to the nightmarish form of his sister. Liam wrapped him up in the blanket they'd been brought and rubbed his arm trying to comfort him. But Theo's breathing didn't get better. It was almost like his airways had been constricted...

He was having an asthma attack, Liam realized. "Mom!" Liam shouted across the house. A moment later, Jenna was in the bathroom waiting to hear what was wrong and how she could help. "He's having an asthma attack. He needs an inhaler."

Jenna set off to search for an inhaler. By then, David was awake too and he helped her search. If they didn't find one Liam knew his dad would think of something. Liam sighed nervously and looked back at Theo. He was surprised to see him with his eyes wide and terrified. "Theo, are you awake now?" Theo continued to gasp but nodded wearily. "It's OK. Stay with me. You're gonna be OK. We're taking care of you. We're trying to find your inhaler. You're having an asthma attack. Do you know where it is?"

Theo stared blankly at him for a moment. Then he nodded. "Drawer..." he choked out.

"What drawer?" Liam asked. "Where?" Theo pointed to the one under the sink. Liam hurried to get up and grab it, yelling at his parents that he found it and then he got back on Theo's level to help him take three big puffs. Liam threw the inhaler aside and sat by Theo, wrapping him up in the blankets again. Theo leaned against him very heavily.

There were still tears on his face, he was still shaking, exhausted. But the nightmare was over. He wasn't afraid. Liam let him stay like that for about ten minutes, letting him recuperate from the trauma of throwing up for thirty minutes while having a non-stop panic attack. "I'm gonna start up a bath for you, OK?-"

"Don't leave me," Theo said abruptly. He tightened his grip on Liam's arm and leaned into him.

"I'm not going anywhere," said Liam sitting up further. He helped Theo wrap up in the blanket and looked at his face. He was so tired. He looked so pale and weak. "I won't leave you. I promise." Liam knew Theo watched him as he turned on the bathtub and called his mother in to put some essential oils in the bath that would help ease Theo's anxiety and his stomach.

Within minutes, the bathroom has the refreshing aroma of Lavender and Peppermint. "Alright, come test the water. Tell me if it is too hot or cold." Liam looked over at Theo, who had tucked his legs up against his stomach and hid his feet under the blanket. He sat there for a moment before he actually got up and crawled over to the edge of the tub and leaned over the side. He set an arm free from his blanket and dunked it in the water. "How it it?" Liam asked. Theo only responded with a thumbs up.

Liam chuckled and mimicked Theo by resting against the side of the bathtub while they waited for it to fill up. He reached an arm out to ruffle Theo's hair. "You're really cute when you're tired, you know that?"

Theo just smiled and nodded which made it even cuter. Liam lowered his hand from Theo's hair to his back and rubbed soothing circles on it. After a minute, Theo spoke up in a very quiet voice. "I threw up."

Liam bit his lip and nodded. "Yeah. For thirty whole minutes," said Liam. "Is your stomach sore?" Theo nodded. "Do you feel sick?" Another nod. "Anything else?"

Theo sighed rubbing a hand on his chest. "My heart is still racing," he whispered.

Liam smiled at him weakly before reaching to shut off the bath water. "Maybe the bath will help," said Liam. He reached to removed Theo's blanket and Theo made no move to do anything. Liam reached for the hem of Theo's shirt and pulled up. "Come on," said Liam. Theo struggled to stand as Liam help remove his clothes until he was naked. Liam laughed when he removed Theo's boxers and felt a soft hand run across his shoulder and into his hair suggestively. Theo was really cute when he was this exhausted and tired.

Theo slipped when he got into the bathtub and Liam had to catch him and help him down into a sitting position. The fall scared Theo, so his heart rate was up again but Liam reached his hand in the water and held Theo's hand. They sat like that for a while. Then Liam's mom came back into the bathroom to check on them. She seemed relieved that Theo was on his way to getting better but she still seemed worried about him.

She left to go to the store and buy him some Gatorade with David. Liam took the opportunity to talk. "So do you want to talk about what happened?"

Theo's grip on his hand tightened. "I don't want to but I should," said Theo. Liam let Theo take his time. "When I'm around the pack, I'm constantly surrounded by reminders of who I used to be. And they haven't forgiven me. I don't think they want to either. I think tonight was too much for me. It wasn't necessarily worse than other nights. It's just they've all been piling up and adding pressure..."

"...and tonight was your way of releasing all that pressure," said Liam.

Theo nodded. His body was still shivering and shaking from the horrible trauma he'd experienced but he was slowly starting to calm. "Thank you, Liam...for being here fore me."

Liam smiled and caressed Theo's hand with his thumb. "How about your nightmare? You want to talk about that too?"

Theo shrugged. "Not much to say. I actually don't remember all of it. I do remember throwing up black and silver though. I thought I was dying like the other Chimeras."

"You mean you were throwing up in your dream too?" asked Liam. Theo nodded. "Hm."

They sat there in silence for another few minutes before Theo sat up. "It's getting cold. I want to get out." Liam helped him stand and step out of the tub. He wrapped a towel around him to help keep him dry and warm. Liam was going to take Theo back to his room to get him some warm clothes but Theo left his side and collapsed on the ground next to the toilet again pulling the comforter around him.

Liam sighed sadly. "You still feel sick?"

Theo nodded. "I'm afraid I'm gonna throw up again."

"OK," said Liam accepting that they were going to spend the night on the bathroom floor. "Let me go get some more blankets and some pillows, alright?" He waited for Theo to nod before he left.

When he came back Theo had thrown up again. Well, at least he dry-heaved. At least now he was awake and could manage to get the bile into the toilet and wipe the slobber off of his lips on his own. Liam threw some couch cushions on the floor, along with blankets and plenty of pillows. Him and Theo arranged the cushions and pillows so they could sit up comfortably.

Liam plopped down next to Theo so Theo was between him and the toilet. "You want me to get you something to wear?" he asked.

Theo shook his head and pulled Liam closer to him. "I want you to hold me," Theo said. Liam obliged and wrapped his arms around Theo smiling when the Chimera relaxed into his touch. Liam heard a sniffle come from the other boy. He uttered a quiet thanks.

"That's what anchors are for, Theo," said Liam. "You do the same for me." Liam pressed a kiss to Theo's temple and gently rocked him, back to chest. All Liam wanted was for Theo to fall asleep, for him to relax. He'd do whatever it took, to get him there. He cared deeply about Theo.

After forty-five minutes, Liam gently laid him and Theo down on the cushions from the couch downstairs. He pulled the blankets over them and spooned Theo, not giving a damn if the other boy was naked. If Theo needed to be held in order to feel safe, he was going to hold him no matter what. There were a few times in the night where Theo woke up panicking thinking he was going to be sick again but Liam always managed to coax him back to sleep.

When morning came, Mrs. Geyer helped Liam coax Theo into drinking little sips of Gatorade. Soon after that, Theo didn't feel as nauseous and was willing to leave the bathroom but only as long as Liam stayed by his side. So then Liam laid in his own bed while Theo slept for the rest of the morning, watching him breathe, making sure he was ok. Liam wished the pack knew what they did to Theo, all the pain they caused him. He was sure they would feel sorry for it, sure they would stop if they knew what it did to his anchor. Above all else, he hoped Theo would only get better and not worse.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo's condition escalates quickly. But it's alright because he has Liam and Liam promised that things were going to get better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. So I want to say, that I don't have a tone of experience with eating disorders and I'm trying to be respectful to all that stuff. If you're afraid it's gonna get darker, you shouldn't be. I'm planning on this being a happy story and very therapeutic.
> 
> It's about Theo's road to recovery and his relationship with his anchor. It's not about the angst of his eating disorder and his anxiety. It's about him learning to overcome those things. I'm really hoping that I go about all this the right way and don't offend or harm anyone.
> 
> I have only good intentions with this piece of work.

Liam watched Theo sadly as the older boy read a book during lunch. Sure, he'd been throwing up the whole night before and his appetite probably wasn't the greatest but he still needed to eat. "Hey, Theo," Liam said quietly. "Aren't you gonna eat lunch?"

Theo looked up from his book, eyes tired and dark. "Uh... I'm not really feeling very good so I don't think my stomach can handle anything right now."

Liam bit his lip and nodded while he played around with his food. Theo not eating actually made him not very hungry. But he ate anyways. Mason, Corey, and Nolan joined them and Liam talked with them a little bit. But he was too worried about Theo to really focus on what they were saying. Later that night, Liam heard his mother trying to convince Theo to eat his dinner but Theo complained of feeling sick again.

Liam found Theo alone in his room doing his homework. He looked so exhausted, almost like he was already dead. "Hey..." Liam said drawing attention to himself. He sat down carefully on Theo's bed and smiled at the Chimera. "...you feeling OK?"

Theo shrugged not looking up from his math textbook.

Liam sighed. "You haven't eaten yet," said Liam. His voice was so quiet and gentle, afraid he would upset his friend more.

Theo frowned, eyes not moving. "...I don't want to throw up again," said Theo.

"That doesn't mean you're allowed to not eat," said Liam. Theo let out a tired sigh as his eyes watered up but he didn't say anything. "Look. I know you're afraid of throwing up and that's a good thing. I wouldn't want you to just eat and throw it all up anyways. Your perfect teeth would end up rotting out and we don't want that." Theo shook his head when the water in his eyes pooled up and had to be wiped away. "But you still need to eat."

Theo finally looked Liam in the eyes, almost pleading him. "I need help, Liam. I can't..." Theo's voice was timid and in a higher pitch than normal since he was crying. "I can't do it by myself." He choked on his tears and gasped. "I don't know what to do. I'm scared."

Liam scooted towards the middle of the bed so he could rest against the headboard next to Theo. He put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him into his arms. "It's OK," said Liam. "You're not alone. You've got me and my parents. We'll take good care of you. I promise."

"No," said Theo. "I mean, I need professional help."

Liam furrowed his brows at Theo in confusion. When Theo looked down at his math text, Liam's eyes followed. There in his math text was a separate black and white sheet of paper that said "Eating Disorders" on the heading. On the other side of the textbook was another page that said "Anxiety Disorders." On both pages were highlighter marks and things scribbled in pencil.

"How long has this been going on for?" asked Liam, voice laced with nothing but concern.

Theo sniffled and shrugged. "Since I came back," Theo said, voice sounding wet from all the tears and slobber he was producing on his face. "I kinda starved myself a lot when I first came back because I just didn't have anything to eat and I didn't care. It's not like I have an unhealthy body image or anything. I'm completely comfortable in my body. That's not why it happens."

Liam nods at the printed paper with the information about Anxiety Disorders. "You think it's because of anxiety?"

Theo nodded. "It makes sense. Whenever I have anxiety, it stresses me out to the point where I throw up. But I don't want to be like that. I want to get better cause I'm hungry."

Liam rubbed circles on Theo's back and told him to breathe and relax. "You'll get better," said Liam. "We'll talk to my parents about this and they'll know what to do."

Theo shook his head pressing his palms against his eyes. "It's your pack, Liam," said Theo voice more stressed than before. Theo almost looked like he was in pain. "I can't get better if they hate me. It makes me feel sick. And I don't want to be sick." Theo sobbed when Liam pulled him into his chest and held him. He repeated himself. "I don't want to be sick."

That night Liam and Theo talked to Liam's parents. Lots of tears were shed and a small panic attack was had but it ended comfortably with hugs and promises that everything would be alright. Liam's parents declared that they would take the steps they could to help Theo as much as they could at home. If Theo's health improved, great. If not, they would take the necessary step to bring him to a clinic.

They knew it was serious, but they wanted to gauge just how serious before they sought out professional help. Liam was grateful for his parents' willingness to help Theo. He wasn't sure how he'd do it on his own.

Two weeks went by and Theo had still refused to eat. He would argue with Liam and his parents when they showed concern for him. During dinner at home, he'd either stare at his food or play around with it until everyone else had finished before he complained of feeling sick and throwing it away. His mental, physical, and emotional health deteriorated to the point where he passed out in class and had to be taken to the hospital. The ambulance wouldn't let Liam come with them so he took Theo's spare keys from his locker and drove the truck. He didn't care if the principal called 911 and told on him for leaving school property without permission.

He drove to the hospital with an officer tailing him the whole way. After he got to a certain point, the lights on the squad car went out. Apparently, the Sheriff told his deputy to lay off and let the kid see his friend in peace. Liam didn't even look at the officer once he got out. He just ran into the hospital. Surely, now Theo's case was severe enough that it would be demanded something be done about it.

And sure enough, once Liam got there they were shoving a feeding tube down Theo's throat. Liam felt his fists heat up with anger as Theo struggled against them. "What are you doing?!-"

"Liam," David said pulling Liam back from the bed. "I told them to do it. He needs to eat or else he's gonna die."

Liam closed his eyes trying to calm himself. But the sound of Theo gagging and crying made it nearly impossible. He was so glad once that part was over. But Theo wasn't. He was having an anxiety attack. Once the doctor and the nurses stopped crowding him, Liam rushed to his side to grab his hand. "Hey, it's OK," said Liam squeezing his hand. "You're gonna get better. This is gonna make you get better. Alright?"

Theo nodded, tears still in his eyes while he did so. Theo looked up at all the nurses and doctors in the room and closed his eyes shut really tight. "I don't want to be here, Liam," he said. Liam could see his control slipping. Theo only lost control if he was extremely fearful. "I need to go home." His chin was against his chest trying to hide the fact that his fangs had made an appearance.

Liam's shoulders tensed up. The notion of Theo losing control was something that terrified Liam. He turned to his father and said firmly. "They need to get out." Some of the people in the room shifted but Liam bit the last words out harshly when he felt Theo's claws digging into his skin. "Now."

David ushered the rest of the people out of the room as Theo let out a pained cry that turned into a howl. Liam's father shut the shades before he left and shut the door. Liam quickly turned to Theo trying to calm the terrified boy. "Theo, open your eyes. Look at me."

"I can't be here," Theo said starting to rock to and fro on his bed. "I can't be here, Liam. We need to go home-"

"Open your eyes," Liam growled ferociously, shifting slightly himself.

Theo hadn't even realized he was hyperventilating until it was silent and he had to take a few breaths in order to open his glowing eyes. They met a pair that mirrored his own, Liam's. In a moments time, Theo was anchored down, held in place. He could breathe again. He sighed resting his head against Liam's. "Liam," Theo practically moaned out.

"I'm here," Liam said. "And I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to feel scared."

Theo's hands gripped Liam's arms and pulled on him. "Lay with me." Liam was surprised that Theo's eyes were still glowing and all his sharp parts were stilling out in the open. But he supposed maybe that's why Theo wanted him to lay with him.

"OK."

Liam laid down on the hospital bed with Theo. The faced each other in the blue light as things got quiet... calm. They just stared at each other. Liam could feel Theo's breath on his own lips. He could see the wetness in his eyes as the glow in them disappeared. His fangs and claws slowly retracted as he gained control. And once he had control again, it was like everything was better. Liam put an arm on his shoulder and massaged it. "You're gonna be fine."

"I've never done anything like this before," whispered Theo. "It's kind of scary."

Liam smiled. "I know it's pretty scary," said Liam reaching his hand up further to brush at some stray strands of hair on Theo's head. "But you're a fighter, Theo. You always have been. That's why you survived living with the Dread Doctors. That's why you survived hell." Liam chuckled at that one when he heard Theo sigh. "Theo, you literally survived hell. No one else on the face of the Earth can say that and mean it literally."

Theo sniffled and chewed on his lip a tiny bit. "Yeah. I guess..." Theo said. "I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing though."

"It's a good thing," said Liam. "You know why?" Theo shook his head. "Because if anyone were truly evil, they would've been stuck down there, they wouldn't have been strong enough to fight there way out." Theo's eyes teared up again and he shook his head. "If you survived that on your own, you sure as hell can survive this with me and my parents to support you. Alright?"

Theo was crying again. Liam didn't blame him. This was all very hard to process and he's probably been holding in all kinds of emotions for years so he should be allowed to release. He remembered when he'd been diagnosed with IED. He cried a lot too. But he knew he had two loving parents to take care of him. And to Theo that was still a hard concept to grasp.

Liam laid with Theo for several minutes. Their scents mixed together bring a calm to both of them. Liam could feel Theo's breath on his lips. He'd be perfectly happy if they could stay like this forever, to be honest. But one look at the feeding tube in Theo's nose made those thoughts leave Liam's head. He wanted Theo to get better and, one day, not have to rely on a tube to feed him. "I'm gonna go talk to my dad. You'll be OK by yourself for a few minutes?"

Theo shrugged. "I guess."

Liam could see the tears already forming in his eyes. Liam leaned a little closer to him so their noses were touching. "We're gonna help you get better. Are you gonna let us help you or not?"

Theo nodded. Liam smiled and moved to get off the bet but Theo shot up into a sitting position and grabbed him. He just needed to be touched by someone who cared for him a little longer. Liam turned around to face Theo, nearly knocking their heads together. Theo pressed his face into Liam's longingly. "Stay..." he whispered. "Just for a little while."

Liam could feel Theo's lips ghosting over his own. "...yeah..." Liam whispered back brushing his lips against Theo's. How could Theo be this hypnotizing even when he was sicker than a dog. His body was telling him to seal the moment with a kiss. But that wasn't what Theo needed right now, was it? Theo needed something that didn't confuse him or stress him out. Surely, a kiss would do just that.

At least if it were on the lips.

Liam wanted to coo at his friend when he wrapped his arms around Liam's waist and buried his head under his neck. Liam held him there like an anchor was supposed to do. He held him there and kissed him on the head. "I'll stay," he said rubbing circles on his back.

It was a beautiful thing, the trust Theo put into Liam. Liam gave it right back. That's probably why it was so beautiful. A few moments later, Theo pulled back from the embrace. "I'm kinda starving."

Liam chuckled. "You think?" For the first time in a while, Liam saw Theo smile. He wanted to kiss him even more now. He settled with a sweet kiss on the forehead. "I'll be back in a few minutes OK?" Theo laid back in his bed and smiled at Liam. All that smile earned him was another kiss, this time on the hand.

So much for trying to keep it friendly. At least Theo didn't seem confused by it. He seemed to like it, to be comforted by it. Liam got up and left and as he did so it almost seemed like Theo tried to follow him, to pull him back. Their fingers remained touching until it wasn't possible anymore. Liam took another look at Theo on the bed once he got to the door and opened it. His eyes were closed now like he might be falling asleep.

He smiled at the sight of a peaceful Theo before he closed the door and approached his father. "How's he doing?" his father asked.

"He's calm now," said Liam. He turned to Melissa who he assumed his father had summoned knowing that since Theo was a Chimera, things could be a little different. "But if you go in there, it's not gonna last very long. He thinks you hate him-he thinks everyone hates him. This is happening because he drowning in guilt."

"Well, he has plenty of reason to be guilty," Melissa said earnestly.

Liam felt his insides burn at that statement. It made him angry and with all the things that had been happening lately, he didn't want to control it. He snapped at her. "He's just a kid, Melissa! He was just a kid when those fucking Dread Doctors came into his life and stole everything from him! No one deserves to feel that much guilt!-"

"Liam."

The stern voice of his father brought him back to the ground. He hadn't even felt himself shift. He just snapped and went into ultra-defensive mode. That's what happened when his anchor was threatened. And Theo was threatened now more than ever. He sucked in a deep breath and shifted back to his human form. He had to keep himself under control for Theo's sake.

"Liam, relax," said Melissa. "I've been around him enough since he's changed. I know he's different. I want him to get better just as much as you do."

Liam bit his lip and pushed down the lump forming in his throat. He was afraid for his friend. "He's really sensitive right now, Mrs. McCall," Liam said tenderly. "It's just... he throws up when he has anxiety and that's why all this is happening. The pack makes him feel guilty so then he gets anxious and then it stresses him out so he throws up and it worries me-"

"Liam," she said with a gentle smile placing her hand on his shoulder. "I know you're worried about him. And, yes, part of me still doesn't like him for all that he did, but seeing how much you care about him, _you,_ someone he hurt just as much as everyone else? It makes me willing to change just as much as Theo is changing. I'll be gentle, Liam. I promise."

Liam had that adorable pout on his lips, looking scared. Melissa pulled the boy into a hug and ran her hands through his hair that was in desperate need of a haircut. Liam wrapped his arms around her tightly and buried his face in her shoulder. "Thank you," he said, the words getting muffled by her scrubs.

Once Liam was recovered, Melissa walked to and opened the door to Theo's room. Liam didn't hesitate to move to sit on the bed next to Theo. "Apparently, he's fallen asleep," Liam said brushing back his locks to look at the Chimera's perfectly crafted face. All the right curves and edges. All the perfect imperfections. The only problem was that he looked so pale and tired.

Melissa checked his pulse and temperature. She peeled open one of Theo's eyes and flashed a light into it looking for some kind of response. "He's not asleep. He's slipping."

Liam's heart dropped. "He's dying?"

"No," she said pulling some equipment over to Theo's bedside and hooking up his feeding tube. "He's slipping into a coma probably because his blood glucose levels can't get much lower. Just relax and talk to him. You're his anchor, right? Maybe you can pull him back to us."

Liam looked at her. "How did you know?"

Melissa shrugged. "I've seen enough of you two together to know," she said putting a bag of clear yellow liquid in the machine. "It was kind of just a guess."

Liam turned to Theo, putting both of his hands around one of Theo's and pulled it up to his lips to kiss it. The next thing he knew, he felt a dull ache. When he opened his eyes, black veins were surging from Theo's body into his. He hadn't even meant to take Theo's pain. He didn't even know he was in pain. "He's in pain," Liam said getting uneasy.

Melissa nodded. "Yep," she said. "His head is probably pounding from lack of hydration and his stomach has probably started to eat itself. It's understandable that he's in pain."

Liam furrowed his brows in anger. "Theo, can you hear me?" he asked. He received no answer, not even a squeeze of the hand. It made him angry. "Theo, I could really use my anchor right about now. I..." Liam felt things inside of him clench involuntarily. "I'm getting pretty angry. I need help."

When Liam received no response, he couldn't even get angry. He just felt himself crying. He wasn't the kind of person who just cried either. Liam felt his father put a pair of strong hands on his shoulder and squeeze. "It's alright," he assured him. "Just give it a few minutes. He'll be back."

Liam nodded and wiped back a tear from his eyes. He looked at Melissa who had finished what she was doing and turned on the machine that pumped the clear, yellow liquid into Theo's tube. "I'm basically giving him syrup with vitamins right now. He needs simple carbs in order to get his blood sugar up fast. It'll be nicer to his stomach than protein or complex carbohydrates anyways."

Liam nodded and watched as the liquid slowly made its way into Theo's nose and down his throat. A second later, Theo shifted and let out a whine. Liam looked at Melissa. "Is that normal?"

Melissa shrugged and reached her hand towards Theo's face to adjust his tube putting it behind his ear so it would be less tempting to just pull out. "Yeah. He's gonna be OK." Melissa just stood leaning over Theo, gently caressing his hair back. Her hair dangled to obscure he face from Liam's view. But Liam didn't think she was looking at him in disgust.

She was probably seeing Theo like any other mother would see him, a boy who was sick and needed to be taken care of. "He's a fighter," David said, low voice reverberating into Liam's ear. It all made Liam feel better. Now that Theo was getting better and not worse.

A chuckle came from Melissa's mouth as she sat on the edge of his bed and continued to brush back his hair. "He sure is," she said with a smile on he face.

The room was silent for a few moments before Theo sucked in a deep breath and open his eyes. He could hardly open them, as if he were drugged maybe. The first face he saw was Melissa's which made Liam nervous. Theo tried to move away from her before he looked over to Liam, fear in his eyes. "What's going on?" he said in a cracked voice.

Liam rubbed his hand up and down Theo's arm to give him some stimulation other than what he was seeing. "You're getting better, Theo," he said with a small smile on his face, an encouraging one.

Theo looked back at Melissa. "I'm sorry," he said already in tears.

"Shshsh," Melissa said reaching up to his face making him flinch at first. She caressed his cheeks. "It's OK, Theo. Just get better." Theo took in a shaky breath as a couple tears fell down his cheeks. "You just need to relax." She moved her hand down to rub his chest but a hand caught her by the wrist. She looked up and Liam had stopped her shaking his head before moving her hand to touch his arm instead.

Liam didn't want to see what happened if someone tried to touch his chest right now. Melissa must've understood because she got up from Theo's bedside. The sudden movement startled Theo and he gasped and sat up shoving into Liam. "I'm sorry," he said again. He sounded so sad and desperate.

Liam put his hands on Theo's shoulders and put their foreheads together. "Hey, look at me," Liam said. He could smell the anxiety coming from Theo already. "Look at me, Theo. You're alright. No one is mad at you. No hates you-"

"I can't be here," said Theo rocking to and fro squeezing his eyes shut. "I feel sick."

"It's OK," said Liam. Theo used one hand to grip the front of Liam's shirt as he rocked anxiously and the other to rubbed at the rim of his own neck. "You're gonna get better. You just need to relax. Open your eyes and look at me. Look into my eyes."

Theo did open his eyes. But he didn't look at Liam. Theo tried to swallow the bile rising in his throat but before he could stop it, he gagged and choked. His first meal in weeks and he was throwing it up already. Liam wrapped his arm around Theo's shoulders and leaned his head against the back of Theo's as he sat beside him trying to comfort him and bring him back.

Theo was squeezing Liam's hand firmly, claws digging into his anchor. "Theo..." His name was whispered into his ear. In an instant, his claws and fangs retracted and he felt the burning in his eyelids go away. "I'm right here."

Theo's breathing started to slow and he looked up when David offered him a paper towel. He wiped his face and nodded in tired thanks to the man. Something was calming him, relaxing him. It felt nice but it felt unreal. "I administered Anti-Anxiety medicine into your IV," said Melissa presenting herself in front of him. She gave him a sympathetic smile as she reached for his newly soiled sheets. "I'm gonna get rid of this, alright? You think you're done?"

Theo looked at her hesitating before he nodded. "Yeah..." he said scooting himself back into his bed. "Thanks."

Melissa took off the sheet on top of Theo's lap and carefully wrapped it up. He comfortably leaned into Liam. David leaned down to look at Theo with a hopeful, encouraging smile. "You're on your way to recovery, Theo. Getting started is the hardest part. You'll be feeling a lot better before you even realize it."

Theo took a deep breath, letting his shoulder rise and fall. "Yeah," he said letting his head sag low. "I suppose the hard part is over now?"

David chuckled. "I wouldn't say that. There's still a lot of things that have to be dealt with. But for now, just be happy that you've made it passed the first obstacle. Be proud, Theo. You did it."

Theo let out a sad chuckle. "Did I really?" he asked in an almost sardonic tone. "I caused more trouble than I'm worth."

"Hey," Liam said firmly reminding Theo he was being held up by his anchor. "Don't talk like that. Don't think like that. You're worth so much more than you know, Theo." Theo's face turned a little bit red which brought relief to Liam that color was returning to his face finally. But there were tears welling up in his eyes. "You understand? You're worth just as much as anybody else. Promise me you won't say anything like that ever again."

Theo face tilted so he was facing Liam, head still bowed too overwhelmed to look anyone in the eye. "You promise?" Liam asked. Then Theo nodded and relaxed his arms that had been tight around his torso since he'd thrown up. He turned his body so he could wrap himself around Liam's torso instead. He breathed in his anchor's scent. He was gonna get better.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. So this isn't going exactly where I was planning on taking it but I like where it's going anyways. I didn't plan on leaving it angsty this long but sometimes just really don't go the way you plan it to. I make up for it by putting in a bit of humor. As you will see in the end though, it's already getting better. I'm so happy for Theo to start Therapy.

The first day in the hospital consisted of people trying to convince him to eat, him glaring at people when they turned on his feeding machine again, and Liam reminding him that this was all happening so he could get better. Everything was so unreal though. Theo wished they'd stop giving him that Anti-Anxiety medicine so he could think clearly. But they were all afraid if they did, he'd get anxious and throw up.

Liam didn't go home. He stayed the night next to Theo. Melissa told Liam not to crowd Theo cause the bed wasn't that big but once she'd left, Theo begged Liam to lay next to him. Theo had been through too much already. If he wanted Liam to lay with him, Liam was gonna do just that. Theo woke up that night and woke Liam up with a whine. "What's wrong, Theo?" asked Liam.

Theo rolled over onto his back. "I feel sick."

Liam sat up on his elbow. "Do you feel scared?"

"No," said Theo. "It's not the stress this time. It's something else." Theo sat up and rubbed at his chest as if he were about to throw up. "Turn off the machine," Theo said.

Just as he said that Melissa came into the room startling them. "Hey, you feeling full yet?" she asked.

Theo nodded. "Yes," he said as if it were obvious.

Melissa flipped the switch on the machine. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

"I feel like I'm gonna throw up," he said with a bite in his tone.

Melissa put a vomit bag in front of him just in case. "You're not gonna throw up. Just think about something else. Like me taking your blood sugar," she said.

Theo watched her with wide eyes as she brought out a little piece of equipment and pressed his finger to it. She hit a button on it and he tried to yank his hand back. "Ow!" he shouted as she swiped some blood from his finger onto a test strip. He snatched his hand back glaring at her. "That was rude," he snapped at her.

"I think that anti-anxiety medication is making you snappy," she said with a little humor in her tone.

"No," said Liam. "That's just his coyote talking. Remind you of anyone? A certain werecoyote?"

Melissa smiled at the boys and chuckled. "Now that you mention it, yes," she said. "But, apparently, Malia isn't as cuddly as Theo is. It's probably a love hunger thing."

Theo turned his attention to Liam and shrugged. He supposed it was true. He did love to cuddle Liam. But not really anyone else. Everyone else could keep their distance from him. Liam smiled as he sat up on the hospital bed to take off his shoes. "Do we have any more blankets? It's cold in here."

Melissa opened up a cupboard and pulled out a blanket. "Here you go, sweetie," she said tossing it on their feet. "Want me to turn the lights out?" Both the boys gave her an affirmative. "I'll check in on you in a few hours. Get some rest."

Liam waved at her as she left the room, light still seeping in through the small window on the door and the one from outside. He unfolded the blanket they'd been given and pulled it over the both of them starting at their feet. When Liam looked at Theo again, Theo rested his head angrily on his fist. "You OK?" he asked.

Theo let out an aggravated sigh. "Yeah," he said frustrated. "I just hate this."

Liam put a hand on his back and rubbed soothing circles on it. "You're doing really good," Liam told him putting his hands on Theo's shoulders to massage them with his thumbs.

"What if I have to go to one of those clinics?" asked Theo. "I'd have to be there all day... by myself."

"You won't have to spend the whole day by yourself," Liam said. "Part of Therapy is making new friends who have some of the same struggles as you-"

"None of them are werewolves," Theo interrupted, voice slightly higher than normal because he was being a little moody, probably due to the medication he was on.

"I was getting to that part," said Liam. "The hard part."

Theo let out an aggravated sigh as he laid back down in the bed. "The pack?"

Liam smiled sadly. "The pack," said Liam. "I know it's hard to believe but... Melissa talked to everyone. They all feel really bad and want to help you in any way they can."

Theo went still, bitterness emanating off of him already. "Even Stiles?"

Liam pressed his lips into a small frown. "...Yes, Theo. Even Stiles."

Theo scoffed and shook his head in disbelief. "You know what? I don't want their help. If because I suddenly am in the hospital they now care when they didn't before, who's to say it won't go back to the way it was once I get better?"

Liam glared at Theo a little bit, not that Theo noticed. He was still pouting at his lap. "You never told anyone. You never reached out for help. You let them do that to you."

"Because I deserve it, Liam," Theo said voice on the edge of tears. "I deserve every bad thing that happens to me. I deserve every look of disgust they give me. I deserve to be dead."

Liam put a hand on the other side of Theo's face to pull his chin to look up at him. "Don't say that," said Liam. "Nobody deserves what happened to you. Nobody."

Theo crinkled his face at Liam in mild disgust and anger before he spat out sharply. "You should've left me in the ground." Liam's expression went from worry to hurt in an instant. He looked away from Theo, unwilling to see the way his face would change dramatically in a second, from anger to panic. "I'm sorry," Theo said, voice losing its vehemence and becoming weak and afraid. "I didn't mean any of that. I don't know why I said that."

Liam nodded. "It's OK," he said calmly. If it were anyone else, he would've been angry. Or maybe if it had come from Theo when he wasn't lying in a hospital bed relying on a feeding tube. "You're going through something really hard right now. You're allowed to vent. You're allowed to show your emotions."

Theo bit his lip and looked at his lap again for a moment while he gathered himself. Then he looked up at Liam, making eye contact. "But I'm not the only one going through it, am I?"

"And I don't want you to feel sorry," said Liam. "You already feel bad enough for a lot of things that aren't really in your control." He ran his hand up and down Theo's back while they both took a deep breath. "You ready to go back to sleep?"

Theo turned to him with a... look on his face. It almost looked guilty, almost sheepish. But mostly embarrassed. He even had a tiny blush. "No."

Liam furrowed his brows in confusion. "What?"

Theo let out an annoyed sigh before admitting, "I have to pee."

Liam had to look away to hide his smile. He thought it was funny that Theo was actually being shy about something. "OK?" Theo chewed on his lip looking at Liam expectantly. "What? You need my help?"

"Yes," Theo whined. "That stupid anxiety medication is making me dizzy and I'm afraid I'll pass out." Theo could tell that Liam was trying not to laugh at how ridiculous this was gonna get. "It's not funny," Theo snapped at him.

Liam stood up from the bed. "No, it's not," said Liam walking around the foot of the bed. "But it's about to be." Liam walked over to Theo's machine and tinkered with it to try and remove Theo's tube so they could walk to the bathroom. He was messing around with it for a few minutes and ended up kicking the machine in annoyance. "Stupid thing."

"Liam, hurry up," Theo whined. "I gotta take a piss."

Liam huffed. "I'm trying but-" Something yanked on the tube and it fell out of the machine. Some formula dripped onto the floor but not enough to panic over. Liam looked over at Theo who had just yanked it right out of the hole it was in and was reaching for his IV to help him stand up. He was gonna miss by a long shot so Liam had to rush over and catch him. "Whoa. Whoa. Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down, Liam," Theo growled as Theo helped him into the bathroom on the other side of his room. Theo had been right about him being dizzy. Liam would talk to Melissa about laying off the anti-anxiety medication a little cause Theo was extremely tipsy and basically relied entirely on Liam to walk. "You walk too slow."

Liam let out a panicked squeal that was honestly hilarious. "I'm trying, Theo. It would help if I wasn't basically carrying you right now-"

"Are you calling me fat?!" Theo shouted. Liam winced, really hoping that he didn't just make a huge mistake. "Because you are wrong. I'm not fat.-Whoa!" Theo felt the cold air hit his front side when Liam pulled back his hospital gown. "That's a new sensation."

Liam stood directly behind Theo and just held back his gown so he could do his business. "Just go, Theo.-"

Theo grunted when his body swayed a little. "Hold me," he said before he fell backward and crashed into Liam causing the other boy to let out a low whine. "Liam, hold me! I'm falling over-"

"I am holding you!-"

"No," said Theo. "Like hold me up!-"

"Fine!" Liam hissed wrapping his arms around Theo to hold him up. But his hands ended up wrapping around another part of Theo.

"Liam, that's not what I-"

"Just go to the bathroom, Theo," Liam snapped.

"OK. Fine," Theo said. The room went silent for a moment before the sound of a stream of liquid landing in the toilet bowl filled the room. "But when I said 'hold me' I wasn't really talking about _that_ part of me.-"

"Theo, please shut up," said Liam. "This moment doesn't need to get any more embarrassing-"

"No. No," said Theo. "It's OK. I could get used to this. You should help me go to the bathroom more often if this is what it's like.-"

"Theo, you're hands are holding you up with the railing. You were gonna get your pee all over the place-"

"Wow," Theo said drowsily looking down at his hands. "I hadn't even thought of that. Good thing I asked you to help me."

Liam let out an annoyed sigh and waited until the room went silent again. "Are you done?"

Theo cleared his throat. "Yeah." Liam let Theo's gown down to cover him up again and Theo spun around and threw his arms around Liam to hold him up. "Let's not tell anybody about what just happened, OK?"

"I was just about to say the same thing," Liam said as Theo went completely limp on him. "OK. Let's get you back-"

"When did they take my underwear off?" Theo asked. "I don't remember noticing before-"

"That's not an important detail, Theo," Liam reminded him trying to stay patient with him. Theo was acting very loopy all of a sudden. It was kind of cute but at the same time, it was terrifying.

"I'm ready for bed now," Theo said slipping from Liam's grip making Liam panic a little bit. He tried his best to get Theo into a position where he could help him walk or at least carry him but he dropped him. "Ow!"

"Shit. I'm sorry," Liam said clumsily hurrying to pick him up again.

"You're a horrible nurse."

After Liam helped him back to his bed, He shoved the tube back in the machine hoping no one would notice anything had been tinkered with. He sighed looking at the floor, little drips of Theo's formula had managed to make their way both to and fro the bathroom. At least it wasn't that big of a mess.

And at least, Theo was too high on anti-anxiety medication to worry about it. It didn't take long for Theo to fall asleep since the drugs were really affecting him badly now. Liam took the opportunity to clean up the floor and wash his hands. He wished he were as high as Theo so he wouldn't have to remember that embarrassment of tonight.

* * *

A little while later, Melissa checked in on them again and Liam told her how Theo had been acting so she lowered his dosage of the Benzodiazepines. Apparently, she'd gave him a little more than a normal human because he was a Chimera. She gave him the amount she would've given Scott but that must've been too much. It worried Liam little bit but she assured him that it wouldn't hurt Theo. He just got to be a little loopy for a while. No harm done.

When she left, Liam fell asleep next to Theo. The next time he opened his eyes, it was morning and Theo was awake, staring at him. "Morning sunshine," Theo said in a groggy voice. "You need to go home and take a shower."

"I'm not going home without you," said Liam sitting up. "But I might use your bathroom to take a shower."

"Yeah. You stink."

Liam stood up. "Has anyone come in here yet?"

Theo sat up too. "Must've. The stupid machine is on again." Liam turned around to see that now there was an opaque orange liquid being pumped into Theo's tube.

Liam sat on the bed facing Theo. "Would you rather eat solid food?"

Theo didn't answer. He just frowned and looked away from the machine, not wanting to think about the fact that he was being fed something that he could just as easily throw up. "It's OK," said Liam patting his thigh through the blanket that was still draped over him. "One step at a time."

"Well, I'm gonna have to do it sooner or later," Theo hissed, still staring off angrily at a wall.

"Let's get through today first," said Liam. "There's a specialist coming today to talk to you and see what... uh..."

"What's wrong with me?" Theo said finally looking Liam in the eyes.

Liam sighed and shook his head. "To see what's going on with you, Theo." Theo crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling in annoyance. "I used to think there was something wrong with me too. Because of my IED. But I learned that just because I'm different... it doesn't mean there's something wrong with me. We all have our own battles, Theo. That's what makes us different. But it's also what makes everyone the same."

Liam waited for Theo to say something but he just kept watching the ceiling. "You said you wanted to get better. This is something you're gonna have to do in order for that to happen."

Still nothing.

"Are you gonna let it happen or not?" asked Liam.

"Yes," Theo hissed.

"OK," said Liam. "Then you're gonna need to change your attitude. You have to want to get better in order for it to happen. It's not going to be easy. I have spent years working on my IED and I still struggle with it a lot. I always will because it's a part of me forever. But I can't let it control me. Just like you can't let this control you, Theo."

Theo finally turned his head towards Liam and looked at him. He was listening, Liam knew that much. But he still didn't want to talk. "You have to take control of it, Theo."

"Oh yeah. Well, what if I can't, huh?" asked Theo. "Ever think of that? What if I'm not strong enough-"

"Don't give me crap about not being strong enough," said Liam. "You're stronger than anyone else I know. You just don't want to take control. You want to suffer. That's what it is. Because you think you deserve this pain. You think you've earned all this pain and suffering and that you have to live through it. Well, you're wrong. People don't earn pain and suffering. It's bestowed upon them to make them stronger. That's what this really is, Theo. It's not a punishment. It's a battle."

Theo let out a huff and bowed his head pulling his hands up to press his palms into his eyes. "I'm tired of fighting, Liam."

Liam took one of Theo's hands from his face and held it with both of his hands. "You can't give up now, Theo," Liam said as he held Theo's hand to his chest. "You're life is just beginning." The way Liam said it made it sound like it was the most logical thing in the world, like it was the easy answer. "Besides," said Liam sending Theo a smile that somehow made the other boy's chest fill with hope. "I promised I'd fight with you. Remember?"

Theo bit his lip trying to hide the smile that had made its way on to his face when Liam placed a tender kiss to his knuckles. "Yeah. I remember." Theo's eyes watched as Liam kissed his hand again and even unfolded his fingers so he could kiss his palm. Theo wished he could hide his blush a little better but he was a little too tired to care. "I guess we do make a pretty good team, don't we?"

Liam nodded, smiling at Theo. He knew a little bit of tough love would convince him. And he was sure that all the hand-kissing helped as well. He did think it was a little weird how easy it had been to just start kissing Theo's hands all the time but Theo practically purred whenever he did it. It was the cutest thing on the planet as far as Liam was concerned.

"So I know I'm not the right person to tell you this," said Theo. "But you've been here for over a day and you haven't eaten."

Liam raised his eyebrows at Theo. "You really aren't the right person who should be telling me that."

Liam felt Theo press his fingers against his lip as if trying to shut him up so he could talk. But instead of talking, Theo just touched Liam's lips. He traced his finger over the bumps and curves of the top. Then he drew his thumb across the bottom lip tugged down on it revealing Liam's teeth for a moment. The whole time, Theo was being mesmerized by his lips, Liam just stared at the boy not knowing what to do or say.

He seemed so innocent just touching him like that, so pure.

If Liam did what he really wanted to do, he'd suck on Theo's fingers. But that might be crossing a line. They were allies right now. Anchors. Friends. But they hadn't taken any steps yet to further their relationship. Liam wasn't even sure that was an option. Both of their minds were a little slow, a little fuzzy, from the heat that was being passed between their touches, the intimacy, the pure desire.

Liam's breath hitched and Theo's hand jumped back from his lips as if being awoken from a dream. Theo slowly lowered his hand so it was resting on Liam's thigh. "You should go get something to eat," Theo told him keeping his eyes trained on his own hand.

Liam nodded coming out of his dazed state. "Yeah. I'll be back."

"I know you will," said Theo looking into Liam's eyes. "And take your time. I actually feel pretty good right now so I'll be fine on my own."

"Physically or emotionally?" asked Liam.

"Both actually," said Theo. "If Melissa came in through the door, I wouldn't freak out or get scared. And I think... as much as I hate to admit it, having some food pumped into me is helping with my psychological state a little. I don't like it but it's how it is."

Liam sighed and frowned at Theo. "I don't want to leave you by yourself though."

Theo felt Liam playing with his fingers and smiled. He noticed a movement at the window of the door. His smile got bigger and he aimed it towards Liam. "Looks like you won't have to."

Liam turned his head and there was his mother in the window. She knocked quickly and opened the door. "I hope I'm not interupting."

"Not at all," said Theo. "Liam was actually just about to go get something to eat so you're right on time."

Liam's mother smothered Theo with even more kisses in one minute than Liam had since he'd gotten sick. It made Liam feel better about leaving Theo. He wanted to stay but... he needed to be an example to Theo by taking care of himself even when he didn't really want to.

* * *

 

Later that day, Theo was moved to a different room where he met with the Eating Disorder specialist. Somehow they had managed to pull enough strings that the woman question was a Druid and knew all about the supernatural world so he didn't have to hide anything. It was just the two of them. Lots of questions were asked and Theo had to constantly remind himself that he had to answer them as honest and objectively as possible because he wanted to get better. For himself and for Liam.

After a long series of questions, Liam and his parents were allowed into the room. So they could hear the diagnosis. Just having them in the room, reduced his anxiety levels but a lot. Everyone introduced themselves and prepared for what they were about to be told.

"it's called OSFED," she explained to them. "Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder. That just means that-uh-the patient has met most of the criteria for either anorexia or bulimia or another Eating Disorder but they haven't met all of the criteria. Obviously, Theo isn't underweight and he doesn't have a poor image of himself physically as he has made it very clear."

Liam patted Theo's shoulder causing the other boy to turn and look at him. They shared a brief moment of comfort as they exchanged smiles. "However, this is where the other factor comes in. His social anxiety. He's mentioned problems with Liam's Pack. I believe that he has pretty severe social anxiety specifically around people that-uh-are hostile towards him because of something he did in the past."

"So the anxiety is what brought on the eating disorder?" asked Jenna.

The woman nodded and gave her a calm smile. "Well, it's hard to know for sure. The eating disorder could have always been there. But the stress that all the anxiety was causing him could have just triggered it."

Jenna put her arm around Theo's shoulder and gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Oh, sweetie. I wish you weren't so scared." She had noticed that he was tearing up again and had to comfort him before it made him sick. She was just as protective of her boy as Liam was.

"Alright," said David. "So what do you suggest we do about it?"

"Well, I'm going to recommend him to a therapist," she said. "There's a clinic downtown that actual deals specifically with Eating Disorders. I think he needs to be instated into the six-week program that they have there. It's equipped to deal with psychological disorders of all kind but it specifically caters to people of all ages with eating disorders."

Liam watched as Theo tensed, his face distorting into one of sadness or maybe disgust. Liam could see Theo trying to suppress his feelings, hide them from the world to make everyone think he was OK. But Liam was the one person he couldn't hide from. Liam pulled the slouching boy under his arm and let him rest his head in his lap. "It's OK to cry, Theo," he whispered into his ear.

Theo nodded burying his face in Liam's leg to muffle his sobs. He'd been told before they came in what his treatment would be like and it didn't sound bad or scary. But spending most of the day without Liam sounded horrible.

The woman gave him a look of sympathy. "At the clinic, he'll be given a strict diet. He'll have personal tutors to help him with all the school he will miss. And he'll have various different kinds of Therapy sessions either by himself, or with his family, or with a group. Every patient that enters the program has their own goals set by their personal therapist and their dietician. And I have high hopes for Theo."

David was standing next to where Liam was sitting on the bench. He rubbed his son's back. "I have high hopes for him too."

Theo sat up looking at David with tears in his eyes. "I'm scared," he admitted. The way he said it he sounded like a two-year-old who thought there was a monster under the bed and even though it was adorable and a little bit funny, it was still hard to see him like that.

"Don't be scared," Liam said making Theo look him in the eyes by grabbing his chin. "You're gonna be amazing. I know it."

Theo nodded. Liam felt himself blush when Theo glanced at his lips again reminding him of the moment they had shared that morning. "I know. I'm still scared though."

* * *

The next Monday, Theo found himself at the clinic surrounded by a bunch of other people with eating disorders. Most of them were teenage girls that kept blushing whenever he smiled at them. What broke his heart though was this little girl, Allie. She was only six and she suffered from an Eating Disorder.

He was sitting in a circle with about eight other patients while they had their Music Therapy session. It was kind of ridiculous. Actually, it was very ridiculous and corny. He felt like he was being treated as if he were a kid. But to his right, sat Allie. Her face was a little puffy, especially her eyes. But she was very tiny. She had a feeding tube just like Theo's. The only difference was that the liquid that was inside of hers was a lavender color.

She looked up at him a little bit cross-eyed. He smiled at her. "We're the same," she said.

He furrowed his brows in confusion. "Hm?"

She reached up and touched his feeding tube. "We're the same," she repeated herself.

Theo smiled at her brightly as he thought about what Liam had said to him just a few days before. This little girl didn't even know him but she connected with him just because they both had a feeding tube. Maybe working out his anxiety with the pack wouldn't be as bad as he thought. Because they were all the same, weren't they? Each other them imperfect. Each of them a little bit of a monster but also a little bit human. Just like Theo was. "Yeah. We're the same."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it and are looking forward to the next part. Thanks.
> 
> :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. I was really hoping that this story would develop into happiness and fluff sooner but it's taking a lot longer for that to happen than I expected. Don't worry. It will happen. I guess I can't just be like ANGST and then FLUFF. It needs to slowly develop into fluff and happiness. Recovery takes time and apparently my fingers want it to take time in this fic as well.
> 
> Anyways. Enjoy!

Theo sat at the table in the clinic. Everyone was given their own special diet plan and had to eat all of what they were given before they could leave. Some of the patients who had been there longer were already well on their way to finished. But the moment the dietitian put his plate in front of his, he wanted to throw up.

He could smell everyone else's anxiety and disgust and all it did was amplify his own. The pasta on his plate made his head spin the moment he laid eyes on it. He thought they'd start him out with small portions and work him up. But the plate was full... way too full.

Theo didn't really even care for spaghetti to begin with. Why did it have to be his first meal? They couldn't have started him out with something a little easier for him to stomach. Pasta was heavy and his stomach was sensitive.

"I don't want to eat it," Theo heard a tiny voice say from down the table. He looked up to see Allie talking to her mom. She had a much smaller portion on her plate than Theo did. But she was only six.

"Allie, you need to eat at least a little bit," he mom told her gently as she brushed back his cute little bangs. It was true. The girl needed to eat in order for her to grow... and to survive.

Alli's lips turned down into a pout and she used her fork to play with her food. She found her self looking up at Theo whose shoulders rose for a moment in discomfort. He was the older one. He should be the example. Show her that he had to eat even if he didn't want to. Even if he really didn't want to.

He smiled at her and picked up his fork trying to hide that he really didn't want to do this. He stuck his fork into the food and suppressed a cringed because of the sound it made as he spun the noodles around onto the fork. She watched him as he took a bite a pasta and chewed it.

He hated it.

Not only was it disgusting but it made him salivate way to much which made him want to gag and spit it out. But, apparently, his hard work paid off because Allie courageously took a bite of her food to copy him. It made him feel a little bit better.

Actually, it made him feel a lot better. He was able to stomach a few more bites on that feeling. Until the dietitian sat in front of him across the table. She smiled at him. "You're doing good so far, Theo," she said. "Do you think you'll be able to finish it?"

Theo already felt the anxiety creeping up. He bowed his head and looked in his lap while he shook his head. He suddenly wished he had Liam with him. Liam would make it all so much easier.

"Do you not like it?" she asked.

He shook his head leaning his elbows on the table and propping his head up on his hands. His head was spinning and he felt things bubbling inside of him, anxiety because this woman who he had just met was talking to him like they were friends, guilt because he wasn't being a good role model for the little girl sitting close to him. And anger because Liam wasn't there to be angry for him. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he said.

She shook her head and reached across the table to rub his arm. "You don't have to make yourself sick, Theo."

He shook his head now getting hot with anger. "Anxiety isn't a choice," he bit.

"But you can choose where you send the stress it gives you," she said. "Don't send it to your stomach."

He could already feel the bile rising in his throat. He looked at Allie and a flood of guilt washed over him. He'd done something good for the sake of that girl and now it was all going to get ruined because that stupid dietitian made him anxious. He looked around at everyone in the room who was struggling to eat their food as well. He couldn't throw up in front of all those people. It would not only mess with his own recovery but theirs as well.

His panic translated to anger and he stood up flipping the plate and spilling it all over the woman who had been talking to him. He ran out of there pushing passed the other nurses in the hallways on his way to the bathroom. He locked himself in and slid down to the floor leaning his back against the door. He put a hand over his heart as he focused on catching his breath.

He focused on what would calm him down.

Liam.

The thought of Liam hit him like a freight train. Not in a bad way. But when he thought of him... the world stopped, the air became crisp. Theo closed his eyes and pictured his anchor. If his anchor were there with him, he'd be kneeling in front of him probably touching him in some way.

He imagined Liam putting his hands on Theo's knees. He'd probably run his hand along them a little bit to give Theo some form of sensation to focus on that didn't have anything to do with his stomach.

Theo imagined Liam getting closer, maybe pushing Theo's legs apart so he could get even closer to him. Theo can see his lips, practically feel him breathing. He remembers reaching out and touching Liam's lips. They'd always been so enticing, so tempting. Theo imagines touching Liam's lips again, brushing at them gently with his fingers. He can almost feel it, his imagination so vivid.

Maybe Liam would lean in closer, close enough that their lips were touching, not quite kissing but still touching. Theo can feel that too. Liam's breath as soft as his own, his lips wanted to connect with Liam's. He wanted to kiss Liam. He pulled his knees up to his chest and just thought about Liam and his lips. He ignored the pounding on the door to let them in, to come out.

He wouldn't come out until it was Liam that was calling him.

He started dosing off but startled when he finally heard it. After probably an hour, he heard a familiar voice, one that felt like home. He stood up and quickly unlocked the door. When he opened it, Liam was right there with a worried expression on his face, about to knock. Theo smiled at the sight of his anchor before he wrapped his arms around him and breathed in his scent heavily.

"Theo, what happened?" asked Liam. "They were about to call the fire department to come get you out."

"I panicked," Theo said as Liam pushed him back to get a better look at his face and make sure he was OK.

Liam pointed over to the dietitian who had been talking to him when he ran out. "She said that you felt like you were gonna throw up after you ate."

Theo smiled at Liam. "Yeah. But I didn't." Liam looked at Theo in surprise. "I ate and I had a panic attack and I didn't throw up."

Liam stared blankly for a moment and then smiled mirroring Theo excitement. "I'm glad you're already experiencing progress on day one."

"Yeah," said Theo. Then he got serious. "Are you here to take me home?"

Liam chuckled and jingled Theo's keys in his hands. "It's past six so yeah. But you're driving."

"Before you go, Theo," said one of the head therapists there. "We need to talk to you."

Theo sighed. "Look, I know. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for staining your shirt with tomato sauce," Theo said gesturing to the dietitian woman. "I've never been in a place like this before. I panicked."

"It's perfectly understandable," said the head therapist. "But if that happens again, we need you to at least say something to us and let us know that you're OK so we don't have to call the fire department or an ambulance. Alright?"

Theo wanted to laugh at how seriously these people took themselves but stared at them with big eyes instead. Liam knew what he was thinking though. "Yeah. If it happens again, I'll do that."

"We'll see you in the morning, Theo," the dietitian said. "Remember. Five hours on the tube, tonight."

"Yeah," Theo said already trying to walk out of the building dragging Liam with him.

Liam pointed a finger gun at her. "Five hours. Got it!"

Once they got outside Theo let out everything he needed to say. "Oh my god, Liam. That was awful."

Liam lead him to where he had parked Theo's truck. "Tell me about it then."

Theo scoffed. "It was all pretty good until meal time came. For lunch, I didn't eat. They didn't get mad at me because it was my first day and I'm on the tube. But dinner... they said that everyone had to eat everything they were given and they gave me this bigass plate of spaghetti and I don't even like spaghetti."

Liam climbed in the passenger seat once Theo unlocked the truck. "But you still ate. That's good."

"Yeah. Only because I saw this tiny little girl who has an Eating Disorder look at me like I was some role model," Theo said frustratedly. He was very clearly venting out all of his frustrations from the first day at the clinic. "I forced myself to take a bite so that she would too."

"Did she?" asked Liam.

"Yeah..." said Theo as he started to drive towards the edge of town to where Liam's house was.

"How did it make you feel?"

"It made me feel good so I took a few more bites," explained Theo. "But then the dietitian decided that she was welcome to sit next to me and talk to me. That's when it all went to hell.-"

"So you threw your food at her and locked yourself in the bathroom," said Liam finishing his story for him. "You're a really good role model. I'm sure that little girl is gonna throw her food now too."

Theo threw his arm across the car and smacked Liam in the chest. "Liam, that's not positive reinforcement!"

"I'm sorry," said Liam. "It's just hard for me to picture you losing control of your anger. That's kinda my thing."

Theo furrowed his brows in disbelief and glared at Liam. "What? Are you jealous that I got angry or something?"

"No," said Liam. "Theo, I'm not jealous. I'm just surprised."

Theo sighed. "I guess I'm just used to having you around to get angry for me." The truck went silent for a moment. Liam bit his lip and leaned against the car door so he could face Theo, smiling. Theo glanced at him with a wary expression. "What?"

Liam wrapped an arm around the headrest on the seat and practically hugged the top of the seat just smiling while he stared at Theo. "Nothing. I just like that you're awake now."

Theo wrung the steering wheel with his hands. "Awake?"

"Yeah," said Liam. "You're reacting to things I say a lot better than you were when we were in the hospital." Liam saw the blush creep across Theo's face and buried his face in the headrest for a moment while he bit his finger in excitement. It made him happy to see Theo this way. He knew that this was just a high after a bunch of extremely low lows but it was still a beautiful thing to see.

"So tell me how your day went?" Liam asked. "What does Eating Disorder Recovery Look like so far? What did you do after my parents dropped you off?"

Theo scoffed. "Um. Besides have a panic attack? Yoga."

Liam chuckled. "Yoga?"

"Yeah," said Theo. "It sort of helped with my initial anxiety but I was still super anxious until we had our Music Therapy session."

"Music Therapy? What's that like?"

"Some lady with a guitar sings songs to us and it's really awkward but all the little kids think it's fun," said Theo. "They especially love passing around the egg shakers. That's actually where I met Allie."

"The little girl with the Eating Disorder?" asked Liam loving how excited Theo was now that he'd finally had a moment of success after nothing but failure. Liam wished it wouldn't be temporary.

"Yeah..." Theo trailed off as he thought a little harder about the next part he was going to say. "She actually made me think about you...um..." Theo trailed off remembering what he'd realized because of the little girl. He was the same as everyone else. Different but the same.

"And the rest of the day everyone has some different schedules I guess..." he cleared his throat. His initial excitement was already starting to fade out which made Liam's heart sink a little. But he still looked a million times better than he did in the hospital. "But yeah. I had some meetings with a bunch of therapists and did some homework. I mean... I know I said that I hated it but it wasn't that bad. I just... I don't know why I reacted like that."

"It's perfectly understandable, Theo," said Liam. "It's a new place and you just wanted to be surrounded by something familiar. I was kinda the same way when I first started going to Beacon Hills. Even though I had Mason. I'd just be super anxious to get home and lay in bed for a little while."

"I feel bad for some of the other patients cause they have to stay there overnight too," said Theo. "At least I get to come home at night and be with someone I actually know."

Liam unbuckled his seatbelt as Theo pulled into the driveway. "I'm glad you get to come home too."

* * *

"So what do you want to do?" Liam asked. "Do you want to watch TV or play video games or just go to sleep?" The boys had spent about twenty minutes with Liam's parents downstairs where Theo shared a little bit about his day. They were both excited to hear he'd had a little victory just on his first day.

After that they went up to Liam's room. Theo couldn't sleep alone so he was going to share a room with Liam at least as long as he was on the feeding tube. Liam had to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to turn Theo's machine off. Of crouse, Theo could do it himself but the only way they could let Theo sleep at home was if someone else were to turn it on and off at very specific feeding times.

Theo sighed as he thought about his answer. He'd love to stay up and do something with Liam but he was exhausted. His immediate answer would have been to play video games because that had always been his and Liam pass time. It was how they bonded on a regular basis when school had them really busy. And he knew Liam loved to play video games and stay up way too late.

But he wasn't supposed to answer according to what Liam wanted. He needed to be conscious of himself and his needs. Right then he needed to sleep. And by the looks of it maybe Liam did too. The weekend had been a long one and knowing Liam he had probably been worrying about Theo the whole day instead of relaxing. That made Theo feel a little better about how he was going to answer.

"I think today was a bit exhausting. I should probably get some sleep."

Liam smiled at Theo as he pulled his shirt over his head. "Yeah. I was actually hoping you would say that and that I wouldn't have to force you to change your mind and make that choice on your own."

Theo rolled his eyes. "I only said that because I can see how tired you are too," Theo said stubbornly. Liam and Theo bickered for a little while as they got ready for bed. It was all in good spirit, nothing they really meant. They fought over which toothbrush was whose because apparently they both liked the color blue and had to accidentally buy the same toothbrushes.

It resulted in them using their superior sense to sniff each toothbrush and determine which scent belonged to them. "This one is mine," said Theo snatching it out of Liam's hand.

"No," said Liam taking it back. "It smells like me."

They got in a little tussle over the toothbrush just as David was walking by the bathroom. He stopped and peeked in on the two boys with a confused expression. Liam was hunched over holding the toothbrush at his waist trying to use his shoulders to block Theo but Theo still had a good grip on the toothbrush. The way they fought over it sort of turned into a pumping action which looked wrong in all kinds of ways from David's point of view. And the horrible grunts and whines they were making didn't help with that.

Theo froze when he noticed David gawking. Liam turned around and saw his dad staring and crossing his arms at them in disapproval. Theo stood up straight immediately and put his hands on his hips. "This is not what it looks like," said Theo defensively.

Liam didn't even know what to say. He just raised his hands up showing his step-dad the toothbrush they had been fighting over and David shook his head ultimately giving up. "You know... I don't even want to know." David walked away with an exasperated chuckle.

Liam laughed and turned around to face Theo only to get smacked really hard in the arm. Theo may have an eating disorder but he certainly punched like he was a weightlifter. "Ow!"

Theo ripped the toothbrush out of Liam's hand. "That one is yours," said Theo pointing to the other blue toothbrush that was on the counter. This time Liam didn't bother arguing and just brushed his teeth.

Soon after, they were both climbing into bed to the sound of Theo's formula pump. It wasn't loud or annoying. It was actually the perfect white noise sound to help keep them asleep. "Hey, Liam," Theo said in a quiet voice, almost a whisper.

"Hm?" Liam turned and laid on his sight so he could face Theo.

Theo copied Liam's actions, scooting a little closer to his anchor. "Thank you for staying with me while I was in the hospital. You don't know how much that means to me."

Liam reached his hand out and caressed Theo's arm, squeezing his bicep a little bit. "After hearing about your nightmares, there's no way I could let you sleep there by yourself." Liam actually didn't want Theo to sleep by himself at all. He liked having Theo next to him where all he had to do was open his eyes and make sure he was alright. He didn't have to guess by what he was hearing alone.

This way he could use all of his senses. He could see him, feel him, hear him, and smell him. If he really wanted to he could even taste him. Theo didn't seem to mind when Liam kissed his hands. He actually seemed a little mesmerized by his lips a lot of the time. Pretty much whenever they talked actually. At first, he thought it was because it was easier for him to understand what he was saying if he watched his lips while he talked.

But he tended to stare even when Liam wasn't talking. The morning at the hospital had basically confirmed that Theo had been wanting more than just to look at Liam's lips. There was no denying the attraction between them. But it was distracting from what Liam wanted to focus on, helping Theo get better. This should be a horrible time for them to let their sexual desires for each other consume them and ruin everything Theo was doing to try and get better.

It wasn't something that Theo needed right now. Theo didn't need sex right now. And neither did Liam. It was simply a want that they could hold off on until the right time came. Right?

"So...um..." Theo said in the midst of the silence. "A few times a week, they have this thing at the clinic that they open up to pretty much anybody with a Phycological Disorder and... uh... you can come if you want. I mean, I have to go to it because it's part of my recovery but-"

"Do you want me to come?" asked Liam. He thought it was really sweet the way Theo suddenly got shy trying to asking him to come to the clinic. Theo just shrugged a little. "What is it?"

"Uh... Art Therapy," said Theo. "A lot of people will invite their family to them."

"I'd love to come," said Liam. "It'd probably be good for me right now."

"Yeah?" asked Theo in concern. "You having some trouble?"

"Uh... yeah..." Liam said bowing his head and sighed. "My anchor's in distress and it's kinda wearing me down a little."

Liam might have been a little bit afraid of Theo taking the statement the wrong way or way to personally but Theo tended to be a lot less sensitive around Liam. Sure, Liam was the person he bore his emotions to. But he also usually didn't get offended when Liam said things like that. It was because he trusted Liam. It was an anchor thing. "Did something happen?"

Liam took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I mean... Yeah. You passed out at school and had to be taken to the hospital." Liam looked up at Theo. The room was dark but just enough light came in through the windows that they could barely see each other's faces. Liam was crying. "It scared me. All of this is scaring me."

Theo found himself scooting closer to Liam and pulling him into a hug. "I'm sorry," said Theo burying his face in Liam's bare shoulder.

Liam shook his head wrapping his arms tightly around Theo. "It's not your fault. You didn't try to get an Eating Disorder just like I didn't try to get IED. We never asked for this."

Theo felt a little anxious but not out of fear for himself. It was for Liam. He hated seeing Liam like this. "You know what, Liam? Fuck your stupid IED." He hadn't even noticed that he was getting choked up. He felt Liam let out a chuckle. "Fuck my Eating Disorder. Fuck everything." Liam sniffled as they backed away from each other so they could look at each other again.

Theo wiped at one of Liam's tears and the boy chuckled again, probably at Theo's sudden hatred for both of their disorders. Theo wiped the tear down Liam's face to dry it, tracing Liam's skin until he reached Liam's lips. He ran his thumb across them and let out a chuckle of his own. "Matter of fact they can fuck each other."

Liam's lips had a smile on them now, laughing through the tears. They both did. "We're in this together, Theo." Liam grabbed Theo's hand and laced their fingers together smiling at each other enjoying the little bit of joy they'd both just brought to each other. Liam watched Theo's hands closely, admiring them. He admired how smooth the skin was, how it reflected the bit of moonlight that had come into the room.

They were paler than his own hands, slightly more delicate as well. His fingers were a little bit shorter, not enough that it really mattered in the grand scheme of things. Theo's knuckles weren't like his own. They were soft and smooth, despite all of the punches he'd thrown at god knows what throughout his life. Liam's were calloused and rough, just like the pads of his fingers.

Maybe it's because Theo hadn't played rough sports since he was in little league with Stiles. Stiles had always said that Theo was afraid fo the ball and cried whenever he got hurt. He'd come to know the more calloused version of Theo, the one who was more afraid of showing his emotions than he was of getting hurt. But with everything that has been happening lately, maybe a little bit of the old sensitive Theo was coming back.

Liam was drawn out of his pondering when he heard Theo's voice. "What?"

"Hm?" Liam hummed before inhaling and shifting a little bit on the bed.

"You're thinking," said Theo his voice slowly getting softer, turning into a whisper. "What are you thinking about?"

Liam shrugged. He wasn't sure he wanted to explain that he'd been thinking deeply about Theo's hands and the complexities of it all. "How did you keep from throwing up when you were in the bathroom?"

Theo's thumb was gently stroking the side of Liam's. He slowly inhaled through his nose and closed his eyes thinking back to those moments. "I thought about you," Theo admitted in a whisper.

For a moment the only thing they could hear were their heartbeats. But Liam spoke up in a voice just a small and slow as Theo's was. "About me?"

"Yeah," said Theo. "I thought about my anchor. You were there when all this kinda started and I remember wishing you were there while I was being forced to eat. I think I got angry because anger reminds me of you and I needed you to get through what was going on."

Liam pulled Theo's hands towards his face slowly and placed a gentle kiss to his knuckles. "I wish I could've been there."

Theo's eyes zoned in once again on those lips. They distracted him from everything. He swore those lips would be the death of them, so soft and delicate. "It's OK," Theo whispered absentmindedly watching as Liam placidly placed another kiss this time to the back of his hand. He felt chills go all the way down to his feet making his toes curl. "I like thinking about you." He remembered vividly all the dirty things he wanted Liam to do to him, all the places he wanted Liam to touch him.

The other boy must've smelt his arousal already because Liam cleared his throat and got Theo's attention on something other than his lips, his voice. Something that held the power to be just as provoking. "I have to leave early for LaCrosse practice tomorrow..." Liam felt awkwardness creep upon them and bit his lip as he uncomfortably detangled their hands. "I should go to sleep."

Theo felt something odd happen to him when that happened. It's like it made him a little bit anxious. He knew he'd gotten a little carried away with his thoughts but he'd thought Liam wouldn't mind. Maybe he'd been reading it wrong. The pull between them was just so strong he didn't know how either of them were avoiding it still. "Yeah..." he whispered. He flatted out on his back in yawned stretching, helping with the feeling that Liam's ... rejection?... had caused. "You got an alarm set?"

"Yep," said Liam rolling onto his other side facing away from Theo and spreading himself out on the bed. "Wake me up if something's wrong, alright?"

"You too," Theo said pulling the blankets over him making Liam whine. "Hey. It's not my fault. You're the one who decided to lay all the way over there. Gosh."

Now laying next to Liam every night was going to be torture in more than one way. Sure, he was literally the worst bedmate because he hogged all the blankets and took up most of the bed. But now Liam was a huge temptation for Theo, something he wasn't allowed to have, something he didn't deserve. At least not in one particular way he was desperately craving to have him.

It was another restriction that he put upon himself. But he wasn't sure if he'd be able to go to therapy for that kind of restriction.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, Theo," Diana spoke in a calm, even voice. "How has your first week been here at the clinic?"

Theo was sitting in an almost all white room on a couch talking to his Therapist, Diana. She was very nice. Apparently, her cousin was a banshee and predicted her father's death so she knew about the supernatural world. Theo was really curious as to how people were getting a hold of all these professionals who knew about the supernatural world. The Dread Doctors had always educated him on how to keep things a secret because nobody knew.

They were very wrong. Lots of people knew. Probably half the entire population knew. Nodoby talked about it though.

"Fine," Theo said arms crossed and pouting at the ground. He was in a particularly good mood that morning.

Diana noticed. "Theo, can you uncross your arms and look up at me please?" Theo rolled his eyes and sighed before he begrudgingly placed his hands in his lap and looked at her. "Thank you. Now tell me about how you feel your progress has been?"

Theo shrugged. "Slow."

"Tell me why you think it's been slow."

He shrugged and hunched over leaning his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. "Cause... I don't know. I haven't been able to eat much and I'm still throwing up sometimes."

"And are you unhappy with the results?"

Theo scoffed. "I don't know."

Diana patiently leaned forward in her chair. "You can answer the question honestly, Theo."

He sighed. "No. I'm not happy with the results. Because when I wasn't eating, I didn't throw up. And now that I am eating I have things to throw up. I don't like it."

"Ok. Is there anything about this that you are happy about?" she asked. He shrugged again, stiff and not very open. "You were really happy about starting recovery on your first day. Did something happen to upset you?"

Theo wrung his hands together and let out another agitated sigh. It was true. He'd been very open their first session but as soon as he came in the next day he was all moody and temperamental. "I... I don't know..." He sat up and took a deep breath looking her in the eyes again. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm in such a bad mood today."

"Are you feeling any physical pain? Maybe we can work something out?" she asked.

Theo closed his eyes and listened to his body. It was something he'd been learning how to do in his yoga class. He let his body tell him what was wrong, where the pain was, why he was put into defensive mode.

Of course.

It was his stomach.

He was hungry. He didn't have an appetite but he was hungry and his body was in need of calories. He could lie and tell her it was something else. But he was here to get better. He was here to change. "Uh... it's my stomach..."

"Do you feel sick?"

He shook his head. "Um... not really..."

He could see the slight flash of hope in Diana's eyes. It only made him want to rebel and tell her it was something else. But he was here to get better. "Are you hungry maybe?"

Theo bit his lips and looked away for a moment. He swallowed his pride. "Yeah... I think I am."

A small smile graced Diana's lips. "Is there anything, in particular, you're hungry for?"

Theo thought about Liam's lips for a second but then he listened to his stomach. His sexual needs weren't important right now. He let his appetite come out of the dark places in his brain and chose for him. He knew if he were really hungry and going to eat, these people would give him what he wanted if it was all he'd eat. "I think I want a burrito."

Diana's smile got bigger. "A burrito?"

Theo shrugged. "I kinda miss burritos."

"OK," she said. "Well, maybe I'll put in an order for that burrito."

Theo shook his head kinda sadly. "It's not exactly part of my strict diet plan."

"I would be willing to use my power to let you have a break," Diana told him. "Just as long as you're a little more willing to open up and tell me about what happened?"

Theo looked her in the eyes while he twiddled his thumbs. He would probably benefit from talking to her about his feelings for Liam but he was honestly terrified of those feelings. More reason to tell her. She was only here to help anyways. "Um... yeah."

"Great," she said leaning back in her chair. "So what's going on? Does it have to do with Liam?"

Theo scoffed. Of course she already knew. She probably already knew that this session would end with him crying his eyes out. Which it did. He bore his heart and sole to her and sobbed the entire way through it. She comforted him and assured him that just coming forward and admitting this to her would help him become more comfortable. She asked him if it was troubling because he wasn't comfortable with his sexuality yet or maybe his gender but he denied it, truthfully.

Theo always made it clear to everyone that he was very comfortable in his own skin. And he didn't really want to change anything. As for his sexuality, it was something he didn't really think much about. It's just the way he was and he didn't mind it even if it confused him sometimes.

"So how about we start having Liam come to some of our sessions?" Diana offered as Theo dried back some tears. "Maybe we could tackle some of these issues head-on. I know Liam means a lot to you. It could be very beneficial if he joined us once or twice a week."

Theo wrung his hands together again and nodded his head. "Yeah. I'll talk to him about it. He has school but they might let him out if it's for therapy."

Diana smiled. "That's great, Theo. I think you've conquered a lot today. I'm proud of you." Theo looked at the time really quick. They still had twenty minutes. "So I know that tomorrow is kind of gonna be a big day. Do you want to talk about it?"

Theo sighed feeling a little wave of anxiety come over him. He was going to see the pack for the first time since all this had happened. He'd talked to Scott in person his first night back from the hospital. He was honestly terrified but Scott was so nice to him and so encouraging. Scott kept saying how he was angry and disappointed in his pack for how they treated Theo. And he regretted letting them hurt Theo the way they did.

Scott couldn't stay long because just having him present was making Theo really anxious and it made Scott feel really bad. Theo only felt guilty after that because of the way he'd made Scott feel bad. It was a vicious cycle.

"I'm really nervous about it," said Theo. "But as long as I don't think about it, I think I'll be OK. Besides, I'm gonna take my anxiety medication before I go. It'll help take the edge off so that maybe I won't get sick."

"Is the new prescription working better than the last one?"

"Yeah."

"Have you been taking it?"

"Um... only if I have to," said Theo. "I know I'm supposed to take it twice a day but sometimes I don't really... feel the need to take it. And It makes me really tired."

"I'm sorry," she said sympathetically. "You've had some pretty long days the last week, haven't you?" Theo nodded tiredly rubbing at his eyes. "Alright. Well, you've only got one more week before you're allowed to go home at three. You'll get to rest and relax a little more then." Theo nodded again and Diana pulled out a notepad. "Alright. How about we set a goal for the weekend? Only one goal. We don't want to overwhelm you. Just something that you want to accomplish this weekend. Maybe tomorrow when you visit Liam's friends. Do you have anything in mind?"

Theo chewed on his lip staring at the floor for a moment before he looked up at her. "Do you?"

"Well, you already have a calorie intake goal," she reminded him. "How about we come up with a different kind of goal. Maybe one that will benefit your social or emotional life. Or maybe you want to find a hobby to pick up. It could really be anything. I want you to think of something."

Theo let out an exhausted sigh. "I'll have to think about it."

"OK," Diana said standing up. "How about we go have some lunch and you can think about it then?"

* * *

Theo held half of a burrito in his hands and stared at it for a minute. His body was telling him he was hungry. Even parts of his mind were. But he still didn't really want to eat it. He looked across the table and found Diana take a big bite of her own burrito. "Mm. I haven't had a burrito in months."

Theo smiled a little bit at how her tongue swiped at her chin to try and get the little bit of sourcream that had dripped on it. It kinda reminded him of how Liam ate. Liam always ate like it was his last meal, stuffing his mouth faster than he could shew. But her lips weren't like Liam's. They were just lips.

"Aren't you going to take a bite?" she asked gesturing to his burrito.

He looked back at it, thick and heavy in his hands. He took a deep breath before he went in a took a small tentative bite. He felt a little bit anxious at first, chewing slowly. He wasn't sure if he was willing to swallow it.

"It's good, isn't it?" Diana asked with a very expressive look on her face. Usually, in their sessions, Diana didn't express herself much. She listened to everything Theo had to say and let him do all of the expressing. Theo had never seen her like this before but he kinda liked it. "Go on. It's OK to swallow it, Theo."

Theo chewed it a little more before he swallowed the first bite. "Now listen to your stomach, Theo. Isn't it a lot happier now that it has something inside of it?"

Theo felt the pain in his stomach start to subside. It was true. He did feel a little better. Before he could register what he was doing he was taking another bite and probably swallowing it a little too soon. "Hey, it's OK to pace yourself, kiddo," she reminded him. "When I was recovering from my eating disorder, I had to learn how to eat my food correctly, you know?"

Theo paused before he took the next bite. "You had an eating disorder?"

She shrugged and bobbed her head. "Well, I still technically have it. I just learned how to be stronger than it. You will too. Don't worry."

Theo squished at his burrito a little bit. "So how do you do it then?"

"Hm?"

"How do you eating correctly?"

"Like I said. Just pace yourself," she explained. "And always have a balanced meal. Nice thing about burritos is that they have all the food groups in it."

Theo looked at the contents of his burrito. Sure enough everything was there. Only if you consider a tomato a fruit which he thought that it technically was. He knew that slowly he'd have to start eating more and more in order to get the tube taken out. They would have him on a high calorie diet until the physician at the clinic told him he could lay off a little. And he wasn't allowed to work out and burn some of those calories either.

It did make him a little bit weary about gaining some weight that wasn't nesasarily muscle weight. But he was cocky enough that he knew he would look hot even if he were a little bit on the flabby side. He didn't mind putting on weight if it meant he could get better and learn how to control his restrictive behavior.

"Pace myself," he said quietly as he stared at his burrito. He looked down at the table where the other half of the burrito was. "One half at a time," he told himself. He took another deep breath before he took another bite of his burrito that wasn't too small or too big. He was determined to at least finish the first half. Maybe he'd even get to start the second half.

* * *

 Liam sat in the Coach's office at Beacon Hills High School. He'd gotten in trouble. He beat the crap out of a couple kids on the LaCrosse team because they were making fun of Theo for having an eating disorder. His first day back to school everyone was still talking about how Theo Raeken had passed out and been taken to the hospital. Some people accused him of taking drugs. Some people thought it was funny.

But then people started to learn why he'd really passed out. Liam wasn't sure who had told them but that's what happened at high school. Everybody knew everything. He'd heard some of the other guys make jokes about Theo earlier in the week. He sent them a glare and told them to knock it off the first few times.

But they pulled his last string on Friday. He gave them a full on lecture about how it was their fault that Theo had to go to a clinic. And then he beat them up. In the heat of the moment, he thought it felt justified. But looking back, he realizes that it might have been a bit much.

"Dunbar, do you know why you're in here?" Coach said.

"Yeah," he said in a mopey voice.

"Do you know what's going to happen because of what you did?"

Liam looked up at Coach tentatively. "Are you gonna cut me from the team?"

"No. Because you were standing up for what was right," Coach shouted at him. "But I am suspending you for the next week and you're not allowed to come to the next two practices or games. Understood?"

"Yeah..." Liam said quietly. He felt sad but he could feel it already turning into anger.

"What was that?"

"Yes, Coach."

"Alright," said Coach. "Now get out of my sight."

Liam finished getting everything set in his locker. His parents weren't going to be happy. "Sup, man." Liam turned around and saw Mason standing there. Liam sat on the bench by his locker and let out a tired sigh. "What happened?"

Liam chewed on his lip and looked away before he found the words to answer. "I got suspended."

Mason sat next to him. He stayed quiet for a moment. "Why?"

Liam scoffed and shook his head at the ceiling. "You wouldn't get it."

"Dude," said Mason. "We've been best friends for years. Try me."

"...some of the guys were talking about Theo. They were making fun of him. They've been doing it all week and it pissed me off. I kinda had enough of it today so I told them it was their fault. I mean... it wasn't specifically their fault but... it kinda just reminded me of the pack. I never really defended Theo when they treated him poorly. I should have..." Liam leaned forward on the bench and rubbed at his eyes. "...but I didn't."

"Well, it's not your fault either, Liam," said Mason. "It's not Theo's. It's not really anyone's. It's just how things happened. Don't blame yourself."

"But see... if I can't blame myself," Liam turned his head and looked directly at Mason. "Then I'm gonna blame the pack. I don't know how we're gonna get through tomorrow without me ripping out someone's throat. I'm so fuckin' pissed at them for-" Liam took in a sharp breath and exhaled slowly trying to calm down. "I just don't understand them. They're all about not killing people yet look at what they did to Theo. Sure they don't kill people but that doesn't make them humane."

"You know what I think you need to do?" Mason offered. "I think you need to talk to the pack before tomorrow. You need to clear the air before you bring Theo into that environment. He'll be able to sense the hostility and it's not gonna help his relationship with the pack. If you want what's good for Theo, you need to take care of it beforehand."

* * *

Theo lay in a massage chair face pressed into the hole. Once a week every recovery patient got a full body massage. Apparently, it helps with anxiety and helped patients become more comfortable with their body's. Theo wasn't complaining. It was probably the nicest thing about this whole treatment facility. That and Art Therapy. He also wasn't going to complain about yoga. Yoga was nice.

Once his massage was over, it was time for dinner and he wasn't really looking forward to it because he was still full from lunch. But the more calories he consumed during the day, the less they would have to pump into him at night. And the less they pumped into him at night, the better he(and Liam) slept because he didn't have as bad of indigestion and they woke up at an easier time to fall back asleep.

Theo sat next to Allie at dinner. She'd recently gotten glasses to help correct her lazy eye which made her look absolutely adorable. "I like your glasses, Allie. They're very pretty," Theo told her. She blushed and shyly looked down at her lap. The sight made Theo chuckle because when he'd first met Allie she wasn't really a shy person. "Did you pick them out?"

"Yes," Allie said as if it were obvious. "I had to or else my nana would have gotten me purple ones. I wanted pink glasses."

Theo smiled and reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his sunglasses and put them on. "Look it. We're the same now."

Allie let out a giggle. "No. Yours aren't pink like mine!"

Theo sighed dramatically and placed the glasses on the table. "So how has your day been, Allie? Have you had fun?"

She nodded rapidly as if she really wanted to express that she was happy with the way her day had gone. "Yeah. I got to make hand butterflies in Art Therapy today. It was so much fun."

"Butterflies? I love butterflies," Theo said. "I wish I got to make hand butterflies in my art class. But I guess us grown-ups don't get to have as much fun as you guys."

She nodded. "Being a grown-up is boring."

Theo picked up his fork and played with his food for a minute while he tried to gain the focus to eat at least half of it. "Pace yourself," he whispered quietly to himself. Then he turned his attention back to Allie. "Did you do anything else exciting today?" he asked before he took a bite.

She shrugged. "I got to talk with Diana for a little bit. And Ms. D. She said I'm doing a really good job because I gain five pounds in one week."

"You gained five pounds?" Theo asked. He smiled at how cute she was when she nodded her head. "Wow. I'm so proud of you. Good job, Allie." He raised his hand up and offered her a high five. He overreacted for emphasis when she gave it to him to play a little with her. "Oo. Ouch. You're getting strong. You must be growing muscles too."

She flexed her arms dramatically which made Theo giggle. "I think yours might be bigger than mine someday if you keep it up."

She looked at his arms and squinted. "How big are yours?"

Theo glanced at his own biceps. "Well, they used to be bigger but then I got sick." He pumped his arm to show her his big muscle. It was really cute when she hopped up on the bench to her feet so she could reach across the table to pat his arm muscles.

"Wow," she said. "You're really strong. My daddy works out at the gym every day and he doesn't even have muscles like that."

"Well, I'm only 18 so it's easier for me to have muscles like this." He was also a genetic freak and had a faster metabolism than the average human. Which reminded him that he probably needed to consume even more calories than these people at the clinic had prescribed him. He looked down at his plate and was surprised to see half of his food already gone.

He hadn't even been thinking about it when he was talking to Allie. It was kind of nice. The second half shouldn't be a big problem. "My daddy is twenty-two."

That got Theo's attention. He remembered seeing Allie's mom. There was no way she was in a relationship with a twenty-two-year-old. She had grey hair and wrinkles. Maybe it was her grandmother. If he was only twenty-two then that meant he was sixteen when she was born. "Wow. Your daddy is pretty young then, huh?"

She shrugged. "I think he's old. But he's really fun. I live with him and my nana. My mommy isn't allowed to see me."

That kinda broke Theo's heart. He knew that the most likely reason her mother had gotten her right to see her daughter taken away was because of drug abuse. It might even be the cause of Allie's eating disorder. "I live with my friend Liam and his parents."

"Do you have a mommy and daddy?"

He shook his head. "I had a few mommies and daddies over the years but none of them were as good of a family as my friend and his parents."

"Are your mommy and daddy not allowed to see you?"

If only she knew. "...yeah. But I don't really want to see them anyways. I have a perfectly good family right now. They love me a lot. Just like your nana and your daddy love you. That's all the matters."

Allie smiled. "I like you. You're really nice."

Theo smiled. God, this girl was such a present. He loved her. "I like you too, Allie."

* * *

Theo knew something had happened the instant Liam showed up at the clinic to pick him up. He still smelled of anger and a few other emotions on top of it, sadness, guilt. It made Theo's heart hurt to see Liam like that. As Theo drove home, Liam explained to him what had happened. How he'd been suspended and temporarily kicked off the team. He even carefully told him why it had happened and why he did what he did. However, he didn't tell him that he had just come from a heated discussion with the pack that sort of helped with some of the anger because everyone was very civil about everything. There was still residual anger there though.

He didn't want to keep anything from Theo in case it backfired later on. They trusted each other. That's what their whole bond was about. "...thank you," Theo said after a moment of silence and tension.

"Huh?" Liam questioned looking up from his lap.

"Thank you for defending me," said Theo. Liam stared for a moment, trying to grasp what he had just been told. He didn't know what he expected from Theo but a 'thanks' surprised him. Theo actually told him 'thanks' a lot. Probably more than he needed to. A lot more than Liam ever said 'Thank You.' Maybe it was something he could learn from Theo. To be more thankful for the good things in his life instead of getting angry over the bad.

Theo glanced at Liam as the younger boy blushed and smiled. They shared a cute moment where they both let out sweet little bits of laughter. "So, I guess since you can't go to school this week it will be a little easier to ask you this favor."

Liam did that thing where he turned his torso to face Theo and rested his back lazily against the seat and window. "What's that?"

"Well, Diana thought that it would be good for you to come to some of my therapy sessions." Theo shifted in his seat a little and cleared his throat. "Thinks it'll be good for the both of us." If Theo were to look over at Liam, he'd see the boy fighting back a smile. "I mean, you don't have to but I mean... I'd like it if you could-"

"I'd love to come to some of your sessions, Theo," Liam said seeing how Theo was getting a little tense and uncomfortable at the question.

Theo seemed to hold his breath while he took his eyes off the road and glanced at Liam. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Theo let out a big breath of relief and wrung the steering with his hands. "Good."

"Actually, I was thinking that maybe I would join you for a whole day. They have things that are open to the public there and since I have a psychological disorder... Well, you know. Everyone loves a good freebie."

Theo chuckled. "You want to get up early on Monday and join my yoga session?"

Liam tentatively bobbed his head from side to side. "I don't know. It's been a while since I've tried yoga. My therapist had me try everything to help with my anger."

"And how did you do with yoga?" asked Theo.

"Uh..." Liam cringed shaking his head. "Let's just say that I spent more time staring at the asses in front of me than actually paying attention to what was going on." Theo let out a choke of laughter and Liam glared. "What? I was fourteen. Being attracted to butts was very new to me."

Theo shrugged a little. "I guess that's why they always make the guys come up to the front of the class."

"Are there even any other guys in that class?" Liam asked.

"Uh. No actually," said Theo. "I think I'm the only guy who is actually at the clinic fulltime for treatment right now. Eating disorders are a lot more common for girls, I guess. But there are still some guys that come in a few times a week for therapy sessions or to participate in some of the other activities. Or to visit their anorexic girlfriends and tell them how beautiful they think they are."

"Really?" asked Liam getting a nod from Theo. "Would you feel better if I showed up and told you how pretty I think you are?"

Theo could have rolled his eyes but he just shook his head. "No. Cause I know how pretty I am."

"Wow. I try and give you a compliment and you just go a get all cocky."

"I have every right to be cocky after today," said Theo.

"Why?" asked Liam. "What happened?"

Thio bit his lip and glanced at Liam again. "I ate everything," said Theo earning a look of disbelief from Liam. "I ate all my breakfast. I ate all my lunch. I ate all my dinner."

Liam stared for a moment before a huge smile graced his lips. "Oh my god. That's great, Theo. That's awesome."

"You know what that means, right?" asked Theo. Liam sent him a questioning look. "Only two hours on the feeding tube tonight."

"That's amazing. I'm so proud of you. Keep it up and you might get that tube out sooner than we thought," said Liam as they pulled into the driveway. Theo parked and unbuckled. He was about to leave the car but Liam was still looking at him like an excited puppy. He was about to ask what his deal was but then Liam also unbuckled. "Let's go tell my parents. They're gonna be so excited."

Theo chuckled as him and Liam walked into the house. Sure the next day was going to be really big and probably very stressful for both of them. And Liam had also been suspended from school and the LaCrosse team. But just having this little ounce of hope because of the way Theo was progressing and because Liam would get to spend more time with him since he was suspended, it made all the pressure the world was putting on them a little more bearable.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is probably not going to go how anyone expects it too, fair warning. But it's kinda funny and at the end it's very sweet.

They pulled up into the driveway of the McCall house and both of them were anxious. And having both of them be anxious just made it worst cause their worry fed off of each other. "You ready?" Theo asked looking at Liam, tense with wide eyes.

Liam let out an exaggerated breath. "Um. First, I have a confession to make."

"OK."

"So I talked with the pack yesterday..." Liam admitted. "I don't really remember all of what I said because I was really angry and I threatened to do a lot of things..." Theo held back a chuckle as Liam cringed sheepishly remembering some of the things he had said to the pack. "Maybe along the lines of ripping people's balls off."

"Liam-" Theo scolded him.

"I know you don't want them to be nice to you just because I yelled at them and kinda forced them to but I couldn't help it, OK," Liam interrupted. "I was really mad at them and about a lot of other stuff."

"Liam, I'm not upset that you yelled at them," Theo assured him with a smile. "I would like it if they would come to terms with... _me_ on their own. But... it's kinda cute. You know? The idea of you threatening to rip off people's balls for me-"

"Shut up," Liam chided him shaking his head in embarrassment. They laughed a little bit and some tension started to leave. "Long story short... Stiles isn't gonna be here tonight."

The smile left Theo's face and he was silent for a moment. "Really?"

"Yeah," said Liam. "I mean, the pack is one thing but Stiles is something I think we should conquer on a different night. I know you and him have a lot of issues you need to deal with and he's not exactly an easy person to... well, deal with. And Scott and everyone understood that. So Stiles agreed to not come."

Theo stared for a moment. He blinked before a mischevious grin appeared on his face. "...after you threatened to rip his balls off."

Liam facepalmed. "See. I was trying to keep you from thinking about me threatening to rip off Stiles' testicles by not saying I threatened him directly but-"

"I know you too well," said Theo winking at him. Liam rolled his eyes. "And, Liam."

"Huh?"

"Thanks," said Theo. "I really appreciate you doing that for me. I mean, I didn't want to say anything about how anxious the idea of spending an entire evening with with Stiles was making me. I honestly, don't think I could have handled it at all. And I actually feel a lot safer walking into that house knowing you're willing to rip off people's balls for the sake of protecting me."

Liam gaped at him for a minute. "Uh. Well, I'm pretty sure that was my IED talking. But... who knows. It likes to make an appearance whenever it wants to. If things don't go exactly how I want it to tonight..."

"Don't worry," said Theo. "I'll keep you in check. Just like you're always doing for me. Also, don't be surprised if I fall asleep while we're in there because I took a higher dosage of my anxiety medication thinking I was going to have to deal with Stiles."

Liam cringed. "Sorry. I should've said something sooner."

Theo shrugged. "Eh. I don't care. That just means that tonight is going to be a piece of cake."

* * *

Theo stared at the plate of food in front of him. Everyone else was enjoying their meals and he just stared at his confused. "You OK, Theo?" Liam asked and Theo turned his head looking at Liam with tired eyes. He stared silently as if he was dosing off. "Theo?"

Theo shook his head looking back at his plate. "Sorry. I'm just really tired." He picked up the fork and went to poke at one thing but hesitated and then another. What was wrong with him? Why did it matter what he ate first? He just let his fork stab into whatever it did and he bit down on it.

"Maybe next time you won't take as big of a dose of your medicine," Liam suggested before taking a bite of his food.

Theo looked up at Liam while he chewed. It almost looked like Theo hadn't even heard him. He didn't look depressed or anxious, thank goodness. But he did seem very tired and out of it. He swallowed. "That's a good idea." Theo looked around the table at everyone eating. Scott was wolfing down his meal(no pun intended) but was much more polite than Malia was when it came to table manners. Lydia was delicately taking bites and cutting everything up like she was all prim and proper.

Nolan had his entire piece of chicken on a fort and ate it like a corndog. He was laughing about something Corey had said about some guy on the LaCrosse team and made the other Chimera make a sound of disgust when Nolan got a little bit of spittle on his plate. Theo had always thought Nolan was super shy and quiet but apparently he was kind of a riot once you got to know him.

Mason was sitting on the other side of Liam and he told Liam how awful the LaCrosse team was going to be without him. Theo sat in-between Liam and Melissa. He felt a hand rub his back and he looked at Melissa questioningly. "You OK, sweetie?"

He looked at his plate. Yep. He was still eating. "Yeah."

"You seem a little out of it," she told him squeezing his shoulder.

Normally that kind of physical contact would've made him squirm but he felt a little numb to everything right now. "I think I took too much of my medicine."

She had a smile on his lips that said she must've already known that's what he'd done. She brushed back his hair a little. "Yeah. I'm sure you did, sweetie. Why did you take so much?"

"Cause I was anxious," said Theo as if it were obvious. He poked at the cantaloupe on his plate before forking it in his mouth.

"Well, let's hope this doesn't pan out like it did in the hospital."

Theo squinted at her in confusion. "What happened while I was in the hospital?"

"Nothing," Liam assured him butting in on the conversation. "Nothing happened at the hospital."

Theo glared at Liam. "Somehow I don't believe you."

Liam sighed and clenched his jaw in frustration. "You know... if you really want to know, I can't tell you here." He whispered it in a low voice really close to Theo. "OK? It's kinda... embarrassing for both of us."

Theo's eyes widened. "Well, now I'm scared."

"How much of your medicine did you take?" Liam asked furrowing his brows at Theo.

"Two?" Theo said.

"Two?"

"Yep," said Theo unaware that he hadn't really given Liam a coherent answer.

Liam stared at him for a moment. He was a little annoyed at how absent Theo really was for this evening. He sighed. "Just eat your food."

"OK," is all Theo said before he happily obliged and ate every little thing on his plate. Liam was impressed with that. He supposed there was one good thing about his anxiety medication.

After dinner, everyone wandered over to the living room and sat down. Scott had to talk to them about some pack things before they got too comfortable and started a movie or something. Theo sat down on the end of the couch and Liam sat next to him. He was going to listen to what Scott had to say, even though none of it really pertained to him because he wasn't a part of the pack and he was in the middle of recovery so he couldn't help with much of anything. But all of a sudden a cat jumped on his lap.

A literal cat. "Whoa," Theo said drawing attention to himself. He found himself reaching for the cat and squishing its soft fur. Everyone was kind of gawking at him but he didn't notice because he was a little out of it. He did notice Liam however. He turned to him and smiled. "Did you know Scott had a kitty?"

Liam smiled and nodded. "Yep." Theo pulled the cat up into his arms and Scott continued what he was saying about some hunters and what not. Theo didn't care at all though. He was completely enthralled by his furry friend.

The official part of the meeting was over pretty soon but then somehow they all agreed to play a board game. They agreed the monopoly was a bit too long and tiresome so they chose the game of life. "We should play in partners," Mason suggested. "I call Corey."

"Alright," said Scott. "If that's the case then I get Malia as my partner."

Theo leaned into Liam and stared at him with 'save me' eyes. Liam chuckled. "I guess Theo and I are partners then." Theo grinned and tried to give him a fist bumped but the kitty tried to run away from him so he had to act fast and cuddle her up.

Once everyone was sitting comfortably around the little coffee table with the board game on it, and they'd all picked out their cars, the game started. Lydia and Nolan were already talking about how they both wanted to have a lot of kids so they might as well get two cars. Mason was daydreaming about the job he wanted and Scott was arguing with Malia about who's little person would sit in the driver's seat.

Liam let out an annoyed cry when he dropped one of his people and couldn't find it. "Theo, I dropped myself. Help me."

Theo chuckled. "You're on your own, dude. I'm trippin'."

Liam grunted as he searched some more and found it. Everyone was having fun playing the game but it was kinda sad because Theo just sat there and pet the cat. The whole point of this night was to get Theo to have a relationship with the pack but he was more interested in Scott's cat than Scott's pack.

Theo had been completely engrossed in the cuddling of his new friend when they both jumped at the sound of Mason and Corey cheering. "We're getting married!" Theo's eyes went wide and he sat up. He hadn't even realized that he was slouching. He looked at Mason and Corey confused for a moment.

Did that really just happen? He looked at everyone else and they weren't really reacting very excited or pleased that Corey and Mason were getting hitched. "They're getting married?" Theo asked Liam in a quiet voice.

Liam turned to him. His expression was confusion at first but it morphed into surprise. "Oh. Wait. In the game, Theo. They're getting married in the game. Not in real life. Calm down. It wasn't a real engagement announcement."

Theo looked at the board. "Wait. Does that mean that we're gonna get married too?"

Liam spun the dial and moved their car forward. He turned to Theo and threw his hands up in the air dramatically. "We're getting married!"

Theo tensed up. "What?" He looked out at everyone else. "Are all board games like this?"

"What? You don't want to marry me?" asked Liam. Theo slouched back into the couch and maneuvered the cat in his lap to hide his blush. "That's what I thought. Now sit up. I'm not the only one playing here. You gotta help me out."

They'd been playing the game for about an hour and a half when Liam turned to asked Theo a question but he'd fallen asleep just like Theo had said he probably would. "I guess my husband fell asleep on me," Liam blurted out getting some laughs from everyone else.

They continued the game until the last person had finished and then they started packing up. No one really wanted to wake Theo up because he seemed really tired earlier and they didn't want to freak him out. Nolan stood up though. "I'm gonna head out. I'll see you guys later. Tell Theo I said bye." He opened the door which woke up the cat.

She jumped off of Theo's lap and ran out the front door. Theo shifted and opened his eyes in an angry squint. Liam smiled at Theo. "Nolan says bye," Liam told him.

Theo turned his head and saw Nolan waiving a hand at him. Theo gave him an awkward tired hand wave. Once Nolan left, Liam stood up. "Alright, I better get this guy home. I think it's about feeding time again and he looks pretty tired. What do you say?" Liam asked offering a hand to Theo.

Theo stared at him and the hand for a second. "OK," he said. He stuck both his arms up. "Carry me."

Liam scoffed. "You're a big boy. You can walk." Liam grabbed his arms and hauled him up to his feet. Liam talked for a minute with Scott and thanked him for having them. While he said some words with him Lydia walked up to Theo.

"Hey," she said getting his attention. "I'm glad you're getting better."

Theo gave her a courtesy smile. "Yeah. Uh... me too." He wasn't exactly sure what she wanted him to say to that. He shook his head. That wasn't it. "Thanks."

She smiled and raised her palmed to show him her wrist. On it was a tattoo that was almost the shape of a heart. There were two squiggly lines. One that was half of a heart shape and the other was almost like an 's'. "What's that?"

"It's basically the Breast Cancer ribbon of Eating Disorders," she explained to him. "When I was younger I struggled a little bit with my image and that's what lead to me having bullemia nervousa. I was able to recover from it and ever since I kinda have a soft spot for Eating Disorders. That's why I got the tattoo."

Theo knew a lot about everyone in the pack. But tonight he learned at least two new things. One; Scott had a cat and now Theo wanted one. Two; Lydia had an Eating Disorder. "I... I didn't know that."

She reached her hand forward and smoothed out his shirt pulling off some of the cat hair. "If you ever need someone to talk to just know that I'm available."

Theo offered her a kind smile and looked at his toes. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

"And about Stiles," she said. His smiled faded and he looked up at her tentatively. "I'm working on him. I know you two have had your battles but I think you should know that he trusts you." That got Theo's attention. She had to be wrong. "He has this crazy radar for bad guys. It's as good as my ability to tell if someone is going to die. And when he first met you, his radar was making all kinds of noise for the right reasons."

Theo nodded in understanding. It made perfect sense and was why Stiles was one of his biggest problems back when he was evil.

"But I've talked to him about it and he said that he can tell that you're not who you used to be," said Lydia. "And he actually feels really bad about the way he's been towards you. He really wanted to come tonight and see you and maybe tell you some of that in person. But Liam was able to persuade him to wait until you were ready."

Theo stared at her blankly. He knew if he weren't all drugged up right then, he would be reacting, probably in the form of being anxious or maybe even crying but he just stared at her exhausted.

"I just thought you should know," Lydia told him. Then Mason and Corey were leaving and so was she. He thought he and Liam were leaving?

The next thing he knew, Melissa was standing in front of him shining a light into his eyes and checking his heart rate and all that. "Is everything OK?" Liam asked her.

She sighed looking at Theo with an almost frustrated look. "I really don't think this kid should be on any medication. He's not reacting to them normally." She stepped back from the boy with a hand on her hip and thought. "I think I'll call the clinic tomorrow and talk to them about more natural solutions."

"Are they gonna hurt him?" Liam asked.

"I wish I knew for sure," she told him. "Chimeras don't exactly have a handbook. But even if he took two of the pills he was given, he shouldn't be this out of it. Even the stuff he was given at the hospital was a pretty low dosage relatively speaking compared to what he's on now."

"So should he just not take these ones anymore?" Liam asked.

She shook her head. "I think that would be wise. If anything weird starts happening with him give me a call." Theo let out an exagerated, dramatic sigh. "Alright. Why don't you go home and get some sleep, Theo. Sleep it off. You'll feel a lot better in the morning." Melissa turned to Liam and whispered. "He's going to feel pretty horrible in the morning. Make sure he drinks plenty of water."

"Alright, thank you, Melissa," Liam said abruptly hauling Theo out the door. "Bye!"

* * *

When Theo woke up on Sunday, he had a pounding headache and he felt nauseous. But not all of him felt bad. Certain parts of him felt particularly good. Like pretty much everywhere on his body except for his head and his stomach. He was too afraid to open his eyes but he was certain that he was wrapped up in Liam. His senses were a bit overwhelmed with his overpowering scent.

He couldn't let Liam move anywhere ever again. So he reached his arm up to grab on his shirt and pull him close, not that it was possible. But he found there was no shirt. He shouldn't have been surprised because Liam never wore a shirt to bed. If he didn't feel so sick right then, he'd be thinking some very dirty thoughts about Liam and his abs. "You awake, Theo?"

Theo heard the gentle whisper. At least, it tried to be gentle but his head hurt so bad that even the whisper was bad. He groaned and curled up a little, unfortunately putting some space inbetween him and Liam. "I don't want to be awake."

Liam chuckled. "It's OK. You'll get to rest after you eat breakfast."

"I can't eat breakfast," Theo whined.

Liam ran his hand down Theo's arm and laced their fingers together. "You're gonna eat breakfast. You'll be fine."

Theo cringed at the wave a pain that surged to his head. "It hurts, Liam." Theo still refused to open his eyes. He knew that would hurt even more. He squeezed Liam's hand and tried to maneuver himself closer to the other boy but his brain was a jumbled up and he couldn't figure out how to do it. With every thought that passed through his head, it hurt even more than it did before.

But then he felt a gentle set of lips against his forehead. In an instant, the pain was leaving his body. Even his stomach was no longer churning and making him want to vomit. He didn't want the moment to end so he pulled his hand away from Liam's to place it on the nape of the other boy's neck. He held Liam there, lips pressed against his skin, breathes ghosting over his face. If he could, he would stay like this for all eternity.

Just having Liam in his presence was amazing in and of itself. But when Liam touched him and gave him physical love, Theo was always so too shocked to process it. And when Liam put those lips on him, the entire world stopped. Nothing mattered when Liam's lips were in the picture.

When Liam pulled back, Theo opened his eyes. What he found was something... something as good as his lips. They were his eyes. How can one thing be so versatile? One minute they're like the ocean, raging with hope and innocence, but the next they are like fire, burning with rage and consuming everything in its path.

Theo needed to be closer to him. In every way possible. He wanted Liam so badly that it hurt. Liam shifted like maybe he was going to get up but Theo wrapped his arm around his torso and pulled him as close as he could. "Please..." he whispered. "Don't go."

Liam laid back down in the bed for a minute, caressing Theo, dragging his hand up and down his side. He let Theo snuggle up close. He didn't protest when Theo laid his face down next to Liam's and brought his hand up to his face, gently brushing back the strand of hair that had fallen over his eyes. Theo ran his thumb along Liam's cheekbone, looking at him in an all too intimate way.

"What?" Liam asked, wanting to know what Theo was thinking.

Theo shifted and their noses bumped. He just couldn't get close enough. "Your eyes..." He brought his thumb up to Liam's forehead and lightly traced the shape of his eyebrow. "You have the most amazing eyes." Theo was completely consumed by the picture before him. Everything about Liam was so perfect to him. He knew Liam was flawed in many ways but it didn't matter to Theo because he was flawed tens times worse.

To Theo, Liam was a perfect example of strength and beauty. He was tough. He was smart. He had a heart. Something Theo wasn't worthy of. But somehow, Liam made him think he could be, that he was worth something to someone, that even though he'd done so many horrible things, he could be loved and he could love someone else.

He loved Liam. He knew that much. And he was almost sure that Liam felt the same way but something was holding them back. He wanted to know what it was. He wanted it to get out of the way. He wanted to have Liam and feel closer to him. Cause he just couldn't get close enough.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, there's a lot of awkward sex talk in this chapter. But it's kinda fun. Anyways, you probably weren't expecting this.

Theo and Liam had just finished the yoga session and were changing in the locker room at the clinic to get ready for the next class. "It's no funny, Theo!"

Theo couldn't bare to look at Liam. "Oh. No. It's definitely not funny. You ripping your pants in the middle of a yoga session? Now that is dead serious."

"I didn't realize that regular sweatpants were differen't than yoga pants," Liam argued as he stripped off his newly ripped pants and threw them right in the trash. "I'm very disappointed. I didn't bring an extra pair of pants, Theo!"

Theo faced him with a sympathetic smile. "You can wear my pants. Because I'm not an idiot and I know to bring spear pants to a yoga session." Theo stole a glace at Liam's lower half biting his lip. "We're about the same size."

Theo saw the blush creep on to Liam's face and he couldn't help but smirk. If only Liam knew how much Theo would be blushing if he weren't so good at controling his feelings. He and Liam had seen each other naked before but it was never really a time where either of them felt they could just enjoy the view and indulge. It was either, not appropriate for the situation, or just awkward.

Like when Theo was sick. Liam practically gave him a sponge bath. It would have been better if Theo didn't feel so horrible and Liam would have given him those wonderful bedroom eyes. Theo craved those eyes. And those lips.

He unzipped his backpack and tossed a pair of jeans to Liam. "I actually stole them from you so they should fit you perfectly," he admitted.

Liam caught the pair of jeans and gawked at them. "You st-I've been looking for these, Theo! Oh my god," said Liam. "I thought those jeans looked familiar I just wasn't sure because you have thicker thighs than I do so they fit you differently."

Theo chuckled. "I don't have big thighs, Liam. You just have chicken legs."

Liam glared at him and looked around the locker room to make sure no one was in there. "Dude, no body negativity here. People are sensitive to that kind of thing here."

Theo rolled his eyes. "You started it."

"I just said you had bigger thighs than mine. That wasn't negative. They're very nice thighs," Liam assured him, probably getting a little more worked up than he should've. "And you're also, wrong. I don't have chicken legs." Liam pulled the pants over his bum and zipped them up.

Theo watched as Liam fidgeted in the pants for a while. They even seemed tight on Liam. "I guess you don't have chicken legs. But you did when I stole them from you."

"They didn't used to fit me like this," Liam pouted. "Are you sure you stole these from me?"

Theo shrugged. "I found them in the dryer this morning. I just thought they were yours."

Liam scoffed. "Why would they be in the dryer? I never do my laundry."

Theo looked the jeans over. They did look a little weird. He could've sworn he'd seen them before. "Turn around. Let me look at the tag." Liam spun around and Theo had to resist the horrible temptation to just rip the pants of completely because, damn that was one fine ass. He looked at the back tag and tensed trying not to laugh. "Oh. My bad. I guess they're not your jeans."

Liam turned around. "What does that mean?"

Theo was biting his lips and he shrugged nonchalantly as if it weren't a big deal and Liam hit him on the arm. "They must be your mom's OK. I thought you had a pair of jeans that color so I grabbed them thinking they were yours but..." Theo smiled sheepishly. "I guess I was wrong."

Liam's jaw dropped. He looked down at his legs. He was wearing women's skinny jeans and... they kinda actually fit him. "Are you telling me that I'm wearing my mom's jeans?"

Theo spun Liam around and forced him to walk to the mirror. "It's OK, dude. They don't look like women's jeans. They look really nice. You can totally pull it off."

Liam looked at himself in the mirror and thought about it. "I mean... I guess they look fine. They aren't really any different than-oh my god," He caught sight of his butt when he turned to the side. "Theo, look at my ass."

"I saw it. I don't need to look at it again." Theo really wanted to though. He wanted to stare at it all day. Every day.

Liam glared at him. "I'm mad at you."

Theo sighed. "I know. But at least you have a nice looking ass now." Liam hit him again.

* * *

Theo's favorite part of the day was when they did art therapy. Sometimes, they were told to paint or draw whatever they felt inside of them. Once, he completely let himself go and painted what captivated him the most, Liam's lips. It was embarrassing how good it was. How well he captured every detail. The art instructor told Theo he should really take it home and show it to his family but he knew everyone at his house would recognize those lips. They were very distinct lips. Maybe one day he would show that painting to Liam and tell him why he'd done it. But for now, it was something he kept hidden.

Other times, they did reflective art projects. Like this day.

Everyone had a big piece of paper with a large triangle on it. On one side there were big letters spelling out "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." Theo was sitting at a table with Liam. The art room tables were tall enough that people could stand at them if they wanted to. But there were also chairs to sit on. Four people could fit at a table.

The instructor began explaining what the hierarchy of needs was. Apparently, it was a theory in psychology. "The first need, it physiological. Things that you need in order to survive literally and physically. Who can tell me some of those things? Go ahead and call them out when you think of them. Then you can write them out in the first section of the pyramid at the bottom."

People in the class called out different things like water, food, oxygen, sunlight. "Yes. We need food and water. We also need excretion. The ability to get rid of waste. We need homeostasis so our body can regulate temperature and blood glucose levels. While you're writing these down, think about the ones that you might need to work on in order to move up to the next level of needs."

Theo wrote down each of them. He tried to do each word differently and space them out so they would look more like an art project. "Another physiological need that might surprise you is sex." That got Theo's attention. "Not everybody needs sex all the time. It depends on the person and what the situation is. But some people need that physical release of tension or maybe their hormones are just driving them crazy. Humans have a sex drive just like animals do. You don't have to consider it a need but I think it's a really important thing to remember."

Sex. Theo needed sex. It made him hot just thinking about it. There was tension. And there were lots of hormones. He definitely needed sex.

Liam could basically hear what Theo was thinking. He saw the other boy's cheeks light up red as he wrote down the word 'sex' in big bold letters. It kinda shocked Liam that it was a need. He sort of understood it though. Which made him question why he'd been holding Theo at arm's length when it came to that part of their lives. He wanted it probably just as bad as Theo did, needed it even.

He needed it.

"The next level of needs is safety," the instructor explained. "You want to have a safe home, a job. You want to have money and resources. A family. You want to be healthy and feel safe inside of your own skin. That's all part of feeling secure. You want to be secure."

Theo examined all of this new information. Security. He had a home. He had resources. He even had a family. He was... on his way to having a healthy body. His issue with security was the pack. In big bold letters, he wrote the word 'Pack' next to all the others he had listed.

"Next is Love and Belong. You need love and belonging," he informed them. "You need friendships. You need family and, yes, you need sexual intimacy. That's the area where the physiological needs and the love and belonging needs sort of connect. If you're in an intimate relationship with another person, one of the things you will mostly likely need is sexual intimacy."

Again, Theo's cheeks were burning a little bit. He needed that kind of intimacy with Liam. He knew it. It was oddly terrifying and exciting at the same time. He found himself looking up at Liam, heart racing from how nervous all this was making him. Liam was carefully writing the words in his triangle spending extra time on the same words Theo was. Maybe that's why Liam had pushed him away. Because he didn't know it was an actual need either.

When Liam looked up at him, his heart thudded violently. What if he was just fooling himself? What if Liam didn't actually want to have sex with him at all. What if that's why he did it and he was just finding some sort of false hope. Liam reached his hand over and clasped Theo's with his own. "Hey," Liam whispered trying to bring Theo back to earth and out of whatever thunderstorm he'd found in the sky.

Theo let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He knew by the scared look in Liam's eyes that he was feeling the same way as Theo. Terrified of what this meant for them.

The instructor startled them out of their moment by moving on to the next level of needs. "The next level of needs are ones of Self-Esteem. You want to stand out and be original and confident."

Theo didn't have the best self-esteem. Especially now. He'd just realized something that was going to change his and Liam's relationship forever. He was too scared to be self-confident. Theo pulled his hand away from Liam's to write down everything he'd heard. He definitely needed self-esteem and confidence now. He just wished he knew how to get it.

"And sometimes, what happens with the self-esteem and self-actualization levels are we can't get those traits. And that might be because things are off somewhere down below on the physiological, safety, and love and belonging levels."

And that explained Theo's self-esteem problem. He didn't have any because he needed sex, intimacy, and a pack.

He hated these art projects sometimes. They were so revealing about what was going on with him.

* * *

"So how did Saturday go? Did everything go OK?"

Liam and Theo were in Diana's office now. Neither of them had talked much since the art class. Theo kind of shut Liam out a little bit because he was really stuck inside his head. He still was.

"Uh..." Theo said realizing it was _his_ job to answer because it was _his_ therapy session. "I guess it went OK. But... I had another reaction to my medication so I didn't really interact with anybody that much."

"Yeah. That's what I heard," she said. "I guess we'll get to explore some more natural ways of dealing with anxiety. I think natural is better anyways, don't you?"

Theo nodded. "Yeah. I guess doing things naturally is kinda new for me so it'll be interesting."

Diana smiled. "Alright so aside from the whole medication fiasco, did it go OK? Was there anything you want to talk about?"

Theo bit his lip and looked at Liam. He definitely needed to talk about what happened in art class but maybe that was something that he needed to discuss with Liam while they were alone. Besides, there were other things he could talk to her about. "Liam sort of made arrangments for Stiles not to be there so it was a little easier since he wasn't there to..."

"To bully you?"

Theo couldn't really think of a better term for it. "Sure. But Lydia, his girlfriend, was there and she talked to me before she left. She-uh..." he smiled and pulled back his sleeve to show Diana what he'd drawn on his wrist. It looked just like Lydia's. "She had one of these on her wrist because she used to be bulimic. She told me that Stiles felt bad about how he treated me and... that he actually trusts me now."

"That doesn't give him the right to bully you the way you've told me about," Diana pointed out.

"Well, I don't know if he really meant it now that I think about it," said Theo. "I think I was just really sensitive to every little thing someone said about me. I think I heard everything wrong. Stiles is the kind of person who makes fun of the people he cares about and... I think I just..."

Theo already felt his chest hurt and he leaned forward buring his head in his hands. He was probably gonna start crying any minute now. "I think me being hurt by him because of the way he teased me hurt him. Because that's the way he shows he cares for someone and I just didn't realize that until... until like yesterday or something. I don't know."

Theo was already crying this early into his session. That was a first. "And why did it hurt you, Theo?" Diana asked. Theo shrugged and wiped back a tear in annoyance. "I think maybe it's because you have some self-esteem problems. Would you agree?"

Theo hesitated before he nodded. The could smell guilt but it wasn't his own or Diana's. He turned his head and looked at Liam who was twiddling his thumbs in his lap and chewing on his lip anxiously. He felt guilty for pushing Theo away even though he thought he had been doing the right thing. Theo wasn't mad at him by any means, he hoped Liam knew.

Diana must've sensed the tension between them so she spoke up about it. "Is there something that maybe you two need to talk about?" Neither of them moved or made a sound. "OK. So was there something said by one of you that upset the other?"

Theo looked at Liam before stating in a clear voice. "I think it's something that he and I need to discuss together, alone before we bring someone else into it."

"Have you had the opportunity to talk about it yet?" Diana asked. They both shook their heads. "Do you think you'll be able to discuss it on your own just fine?"

Theo shrugged a little. "I mean, if it were just you and me in here I would talk to you about it but-"

"What?!" Liam asked. And there was his IED. All the emotions he had been feeling a moment before had turned into anger.

Theo looked at him. He was kinda getting angry too. "Well, sorry, Liam. It's unhealthy for me to just hold something like that inside of me! I don't know how to deal with that kind of stuff. It's part of my recovery. I'm supposed to tell Diana when I'm having problems.-"

"Yeah. But that specific thing is not just about you and your needs," Liam argued.

"What do you know about what I need-"

"Oh. Well, now you're getting all physiological on me-"

"Fine!" Theo threw his hands up in there. "I need sex, Liam. That's what all this is about. I need sex and intimacy and not with just anybody. I need it with you! That's what's wrong with me. Is that what you want me to tell her? I thought that maybe it would've been nice to talk to you about it later when it was just the two of us but no-"

"Theo," Diana's voice spoke over him and he shut his mouth instantly. Yeah. He might have lost his cool there. But at least he'd gotten everything he needed to off of his chest.

Theo closed his eyes and faced Diana, rather than Liam and took in a deep cleansing breath. "Sorry," Theo apologized. "This is just a... touchy subject right now."

Diana let both of them cool down for a minute before she spoke up. "OK. So, Theo, let's talk about you negative feelings you're having about Liam right now."

Liam scoffed. "What about my negative feelings?"

"You'll go after him," she assured Liam. "Now, Theo, you go first."

Theo took in a deep breath. "I'm mad at him right now."

"I'm mad at you too," Liam said abruptly in a whiney voice.

"I'm more mad at you."

"I'm maddest-"

"Boys!" Diana silenced them. "Theo tell me why you're mad at Liam."

"Because he just flipped out at me for wanting to talk to my therapist about my needs," Theo said giving Liam a pointed look.

"OK. Now Liam. Your turn."

Liam had a pout on his face already. "I'm mad at you because..." His shoulders sunk a little bit as he tried to think of what was going on inside of him. He didn't know why he was mad at Theo. He wasn't sure he was really mad at all. "Actually... I don't think I'm really mad at you."

"Then what emotion was it that you were feeling before you suddenly felt angry?" Diana asked.

Liam sighed and bit his Liam, twiddling his thumbs again. "Guilt. Because I didn't give Theo something that he needed."

"Well, did you know he needed it?" Diana asked.

"I knew he wanted it...and that I wanted it but I thought it was something that we needed to hold off on until Theo was completely recovered..." Liam trailed off, not looking at either them, only his thumbs. "But I didn't realize it was something that people really needed. I didn't even realize that ... that I needed until today and I'm really sorry." He looked up at Theo, eyes a little bit glossy from the tears that were forming. "I'm sorry."

Theo felt kinda bad for the way he acted and yelled at Liam just now. He may have overreacted a little bit. And he ruined the chances of them having this discussion just between the two of them when he just blurted out everything in front of Diana. "I'm sorry too..." he whispered before he leaned in and hugged Liam, arms wrapping around his shoulders and head resting against Liam's.

Maybe the hard part was over now. Now that everything was just out in the open.

* * *

Theo and Liam just didn't feel like talking very much after the horrors that the day had brought them occurred. They both knew they'd get through it but that didn't mean they couldn't be awkward about it for a while. Theo could smell Liam's guilt every once and while and it kind of hurt to see someone he cared about so much feel that way. He smelled it after the session when they were walking to lunch and stopped Liam in the hall.

"Hey," he said quietly. Liam looked at him with that pout on his lips. All Theo wanted to do was kiss it off of his lips and make it go away. He liked when he smiled better. But instead, he tentatively laced their fingers together and squeezed Liam's hand. He wanted him to know that he wasn't upset with him and that he was feeling just as guilty as Liam was.

Liam sighed before looking down at their hands, laced together. They fit perfectly. He felt a small smile creep on to his lips at the idea of this becoming a regular thing now, something he could do whenever he wanted instead of just to comfort his friend. He looked up at Theo with that classic innocent puppy smile that Liam rarely wore anymore.

The smiled Theo returned him with wasn't quite as big as Liam's but the moment Liam pulled Theo's hand up to his lips and kissed it, that changed. He beamed at Liam feeling some of that coldness that had been lingering in his heart for the past ten years go away. Sure there was a lot of sexual desire between them. But that was only part of it. A very small part.

Their connection was different than anyone else's because it was so deep and unconditional that they would never be able to fully understand and explore it.

Liam had been right back in the hospital when he told Theo not to give up because his new life was just beginning. For a while, he didn't understand it. He could still feel all the darkness and bitterness that was inside of him eating away at his soul. He couldn't fathom the idea of ever become better even though he wanted it more than he'd ever wanted anything.

Now he understood it though. His life was beginning. He knew there were going to be new setbacks every day. But every day he'd take a step forward somehow. He could finally feel the light inside of him. Before it was just something he could see, something he yearned for. Liam had introduced him to that light and now, because of how Liam had stuck with him through so much, he was learning to shine.

He had hope for a future.


	8. Chapter 8

Theo and Liam sat on the bed watching each other uncomfortably. They weren't sure how to do bedtime now that they had agreed they were eventually going to have sex. Sure, Theo said that he desperately needed it but... after bitching about it like a baby he felt kinda embarrassed. And frankly, so did Liam.

"So..." Theo said.

"So..." Liam responded. Wow. They were good at this.

Theo sighed. "We're in private now. Just the two of us..." Theo said in a snarky voice. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Liam had that uncomfortable pout on his lips as he shrugged. "I mean... no. But we need to anyways."

Theo nodded. "Great," he said with a sarcastic undertone as he pulled his legs up under him and sat criss-cross. He immediately started playing with the loose end of his feeding tube, something he'd started to do when he was uncomfortable.

Liam sighed. "Theo, it's not that I don't ever want to... have sex with you. It's just that... I don't think I want to right now."

Theo put his hands up in confusion. "Neither do I."

Liam furrowed his brows. "Then why did you yell at me about it earlier today?"

"Because I wanted to yell at you about it," Theo argued with him. Sure his argument wasn't a very good one but it was still there.

Liam glared at him. "Theo, I just think that maybe we should... consider taking it slow."

Theo hadn't looked Liam in the eye for a few minutes and he was still keeping his eyes trained on the tube in his fingers. "Like... how slow?"

"At least, not tonight," Liam said. "I mean, we're both clearly embarrassed and sex is something we both need to go into with confidence. You know that, right?"

Theo bobbed his head, still not willing to look Liam in the eyes. "No..."

Liam scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Theo, can you look at me?"

Theo flicked the tube into his lap and looked up at Liam. "Liam, I've never..." he started out in a whiney voice but decided it was something he needs to be a bit more serious about. "I've never had sex before."

Liam tried not to smile at how innocent that was. Theo Raeken had done a lot of things that made him impure but this one thing made him so sinless. "You're a virgin?"

Theo nodded tentatively. He stared at Liam looking for a reaction but got nervous and went to pick up his feeding tube again but Liam caught his hands. Theo looked down at their hands and let out a sigh. "Is that weird?"

Liam shook his head. "No. It's not weird. It's... it's really sweet, Theo."

Theo raised an incredulous eyebrow at him. "Sweet?"

Liam nodded and brought one of Theo's hands up to his lips to kiss it. "I think you need to cherish that innocence for a bit longer, Theo. Wait until we're both ready for that step in our... relationship." He held up Theo's hand with both of his own, rubbing them together gently. "OK?"

Theo looked doubtful of something. "How will we know when we're both ready?"

Liam smiled. "Because we'll just know. One night we're gonna look at each other and... and we're just gonna know that it's time."

Theo looked at Liam, innocence still written all over his face. God, that innocence was beautiful. He was so pure. Theo seemed to nod in understanding. "So are we-uh..." Theo cleared his throat and glanced at Liam's hands clasped over his own. "Are we... together now?"

Liam felt butterflies in his stomach suddenly. "Yeah. I hope so," he whispered breathily.

Theo smiled. "Uh. So we're like... boyfriends now or what?"

Liam chuckled at just how innocent Theo was being tonight. He could get used to this side of Theo. "Stop that or you're gonna give me diabetes."

Theo frowned. "Stop what?"

"You're being so sweet," Liam said kissing Theo's hand. "You're like so pure right now. I can't even..." Liam shook his head. "Oh my god."

Theo scoffed in disbelief. "You're saying that _I'm_ the innocent one?" Liam nodded and Theo didn't even know how to respond. He could barely comprehend the idea of himself being innocent after all the shit he'd done. "That's new," is all he could say because he really wanted to entertain that idea. He hadn't been innocent in a long time.

Liam chuckled and leaned in to kiss Theo on the mouth for the first time. Theo stiffened at first but quickly relaxed into the kiss. He had always thought of Liam as the innocent one. But here was Theo and he wasn't even sure if he knew how to kiss someone. It didn't matter if he didn't know how to though because he finally got to taste Liam's lips. They were everything he'd imagined and more.

They were soft yet firm. They were a perfect match for his own lips. He just hoped Liam was as excited about his lips. When Liam pulled back Theo had to keep himself from following Liam's lips with is own. He saw Liam go for his hands again, placing little kisses on his knuckles and found himself laughing. "Why do you always do that?"

"Hm?" Liam glanced up at him.

"My hands," Theo clarified. "You always kiss my hands."

Liam's cheeks turned a little bit pink as he played with Theo's hand some more. "I... guess I just really like your hands." Liam kissed the back of Theo's hand. "They're so beautiful. You're gonna do a lot of amazing things with these hands. I know it." Liam took the silence that followed to pull Theo down onto the mattress and lay beside him.

Theo stared at him as he continued to kiss him on the hand. "For me, it's always been your lips..." he whispered in admission. "I really like your lips."

Liam smirked a little bit. "I know..." he told Theo. "You stare at them all the time." Theo pulled the covers over his cheeks to hide the blush. "That's why I always kiss your hands. Because you like my lips... and I like your hands."

Theo smiled. He always knew Liam knew more than he ever let on. But this still surprised him somehow. Also, Liam loved his hands. That was pretty exciting.

* * *

Liam spent the rest of the week at the clinic with Theo. They helped each other with homework. Liam was struggling with biology like always. And Theo pretended to suck at history so he could see Liam be a cute little nerd for a good forty minutes. Eventually, Liam caught on and smacked Theo across the head for faking it.

Theo ran into a very few eating problems since Liam was there. He usually ate everything on his plate and even snacked in between meals to add in some extra calories when he could.  He had a meeting with the dietitian on Friday morning and Liam was very curious to see how it would go. So he stuck by Theo's side as they weighed him and went over his meal log for the week.

She seemed pretty pleased. "You're actually doing an amazing job, Theo. You've gained fifteen pounds in the last two weeks."

Theo raised his eyebrows. "Fifteen pounds?" he turned to Liam who had an equally surprised face. He looked back the Ms. D. "In two weeks?"

She nodded. "As long as you can keep up the good work at home, you'll be getting your tube out soon."

Theo winced.

"What?" Liam asked.

Theo put his hand up to his chest and cringed. "How exactly do they take it out?"

Ms. D sighed. "That's not important. What's important is you gaining the ability to feed yourself without the help of your feeding tube. And the next two weeks, it might be a bit harder because you'll be going home for dinner and you won't have anyone here to keep track of your calories. You'll have to do it yourself. If you can't keep eating calories and gaining weight at the same rate that you have, then you won't get your feeding tube taken out sooner."

Theo sighed. "If I'm not underweight then why do I need to keep gaining weight?"

"Because you need to recover all the weight you lost," she explained. "Once you get to a certain point, you'll only need to eat as much as the average person. But right now, in recovery, you're basically bulking up. Eating lots of healthy food at certain times of the day. Your body has been lacking proper nutrients for a long time and it needs extra to get back to where it needs to be."

Theo sighed. "I'm gonna turn into a marshmallow."

Liam chuckled and wrapped his arms around Theo and gave him a squeeze. "You'll always be my marshmallow." Theo let out the purest laughter.

* * *

Later, Theo and Liam were talking with Diana. Somehow they'd come across the topic of companion pets. They wondered if it would maybe be a good thing for Theo. "I haven't seen Theo with animals before so I don't know how he is when he's around them but a lot of the patients here of companion pets and they usually prove to be beneficial."

Liam poked Theo's side and had a knowing smirk. "You need a kitty."

Theo shook his head and crossed his arms. "No. I don't."

Liam turned to Diana. "I think I might take him to the pet store or something tomorrow."

"Liam, I don't need a cat-" Liam showed Theo a picture of an adorable cat on his phone and Theo covered his mouth. That incredibly innocent smile was on his face. He definitely wanted a kitten. Theo snatched Liam's phone and started swiping through to look at more picture of cats. After a few seconds, he sighed. "Fine. Maybe I kinda... maybe want a cat."

"I think it would be great if you got a cat," Diana told him. "You'll need to do your research before you just up and get a cat though-"

"I already did my research," Theo informed her unashamed.

"Well, OK then," Diana said. "Let's have a change of topics. How are things going with the pack? Have you visited or seen any of them since Saturday?"

Theo grabbed Liam's hand and fidgeted with it. "Yeah. Mason, Corey, and Nolan have come over for dinner a couple of times this week."

"Really? And how did it go?"

Theo shrugged. "Really nice actually. Uh. I had fun with them." He smiled at the memory. "The hardest part was telling them that Liam and I are boyfriends now and they were all really happy for us."

"That's good that you have a positive association with them now," she said. "Are there any future plans with anyone?"

"Uh... yeah..." Theo said smiling at Liam.

"We're going bowling tonight with Mason and Corey as a double date," Liam told her. "Our first date."

"That's exciting. Right, Theo?"

Theo let out a sigh. "I've never been on a date before so... I'm kinda nervous."

Liam felt those silly butterflies in his stomach again because of how Theo was being so innocent. "Theo, I think everyone gets nervous on first dates."

"Are you nervous?" Theo asked in disbelief.

Liam shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe I am."

Theo rolled his eyes. "Is that the only pack you've been reconnecting with so far?"

"Uh..." Theo said tensing. "I actually... talked to Lydia and she wants to meet up sometime for coffee."

"Do you think you'll go through with it?" Diana asked.

Theo inhaled and nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I'm a little nervous about it but I think I can do it. I want to do it. I know she means well for me."

"It's perfectly normal for you to be nervous about it, Theo," Diana assured him. "It's all part of having social anxiety. You're probably going to deal with that for the rest of your life. It'll get easier the more you put yourself out there."

Theo nodded but somehow he didn't really believe her.

* * *

Theo looked at the ball unsure. He didn't even know where to begin. He looked up at Liam with those 'save me' eyes. Liam squinted at him. "Have you ever bowled before?"

Theo shook his head. "I mean... it's not like the Dread Doctors took me out to have fun ever. I don't know how to do anything that involves balls."

Liam smirked. "Well, I mean, you are a virgin. I wouldn't expect you to know how to handle balls." Liam regretted his snarky remark when he saw the coyote inside of Theo glare at him. He cleared his throat. "Don't worry, babe. I'll teach you." He thought about it for a moment and smirked again. "In both cases."

Theo rolled his eyes and punched Liam in the arm. "I don't like it when you call me babe. It's weird."

"Then what am I supposed to call you?" Liam asked.

Theo let out an exasperated sigh. "Do you have to call me anything?"

Liam scoffed and drug Theo over to the table and made him sit next to Mason and Corey. "Do you guys have nicknames for each other?"

Mason and Corey looked across the table at Liam and Theo. "Well, yeah," said Mason. "Lots of nicknames."

Corey smiled at Mason dreamily and booped his nose. "He's my Prince Charming."

Mason giggled. "And he's my purple dinosaur."

Liam wrapped an arm around Theo's waist. "See? Schmoopy nicknames are perfectly normal for boyfriends to have for each other. And that is why I'm calling you Marshmellow."

Theo tried to keep a straight face but he couldn't deny that he liked the idea of being something fluffy and sweet in Liam's eyes. "Fine. Then you're my Magic Princess."

Liam scoffed. "Why am I your magic princess?"

"Because..." Theo explained. That was it. That was his explanation.

"I want a better nickname," Liam demanded.

"Don't worry, dollface," Theo said smirking at him. "You'll get your fair share of embarrassing nicknames from me in the foreseeable future."

"OK," said Liam looking to Mason and Corey. "There has to be a rule where you don't call each other girl nicknames."

Mason and Corey looked at each other and shook their heads. "We never really needed that rule. I guess we just call each other what we want and it's cute either way."

Liam glared at Theo. Theo grinned and leaned in towards him. He ran a finger across Liam's lips and looked at him with bedroom eyes. "Sugarlips."

Liam's eyes widened. "Theo..." he chided him in a whisper. "That's hovering on the edge of dirty."

Theo winked at him. "I know." Theo giggled at Liam's blush and looked up at the other boys across the table who were gawking. "What?"

Mason and Corey looked at each other with wide eyes and knowing smiles before they looked at Liam who was now anxiously tapping his fingers on the table. "Dude, you got yourself a hunk," Mason informed Liam.

Liam chuckled and faced Theo. "I got myself something that's for sure." Liam could see the annoyed look in Theo's eyes. It was coming from his coyote which was probably cuter than it should have been. Liam could tell the difference between human Theo, wolf Theo, and coyote Theo.

His wolf was his cuddly and protective side. Liam witnessed him those times Theo had saved him and pretty much every night when it was bedtime. The human side of Theo was the most common side of him recently. It was the broken side, the hurt side, the healing side. Human Theo was insecure and punishing himself.

But Coyote Theo was the Theo that everyone knew. He was confident and a sassy bitch. Liam was glad that Theo was starting to let that side of him out a little bit more as he started to recover. He knew Theo had let his coyote have complete control of him when he was with the Dread Doctors. Because that part of him didn't have trouble doing dirty things to get what he wanted. His coyote could be vicious and that's why Theo was so weary of that part of him.

Liam kissed Theo on the nose and saw the color of his eyes change. They hadn't been glowing before or anything. Theo's eyes just tended to change color when he passed between wolf-coyote-human. His wolf's eyes tended to be big and brown. That was definitely the innocent side of him.

Liam took his hand and kissed it. "Come on, Romeo. I gotta teach you how to bowl." Liam let Theo over to the ball rack and helped him chose a ball. It was actually one of the smaller ones because he wasn't as strong as he used to be since he'd gotten sick. Liam saw the disappointed look in Theo's eyes when he realized he wasn't very strong anymore. He snapped Theo out of it. "Hey, don't do that to yourself. You're the strongest person I know."

Theo let out a huffed of a laugh. "You're the strongest person I know."

Liam rolled his eyes. "And that's why I call you a marshmallow." Liam lead Theo over to the lane. He helped Theo get his perfect fingers into the three little holes. And then he gave him a little tutorial on form. "If you go ever the line it's a fowl so... you know. Don't do that."

Theo still seemed a little unsure, unconfident.

"Don't worry," said Liam. "You're not going to embarrass yourself. I mean, have you seen Mason try to do sports? He's like... the worst. If anybody is going to embarrass themselves it Mason. Mason sucks."

"I heard that!" Mason notified Liam from ten feet away at the table they'd been sitting at.

Liam had been wrong. Mason wasn't the most embarrassing person that night. But Theo wasn't either.

In the middle of the game, it was Liam's turn and he went to bowl. Somehow, he ended up flat on his face in the middle of the ally. The best part was that Theo didn't even help him. He had to face away from him so he could laugh without feeling entirely guilty.

It only got worse when Mason was the one who went to help him up because Mason ended up falling on his ass. They couldn't even finish the game after that because they were laughing too hard. Theo and Liam ended up going on a late night ice cream run after bowling. Theo kept glancing at Liam's ice cream covered lips and he didn't know why.

"So did you like going on a date with me?" Liam asked. Not that he needed to. It's not like Theo would say he didn't. Theo took a bite of the cone and nodded. "Would you want to do that again sometime? But maybe just the two of us? And maybe not bowling?"

Theo reached his hand across the table and put it inside of Liam's hand. "Of course, I do, little wolf."

Liam grinned as he pulled Theo's hand up to his lips and pressed a firm kiss on his skin. There was still a bit of ice cream on his lips because Liam was a horribly messy eater. Liam saw the distant look in Theo's eyes as he watched Liam kiss him. A small mischevious grin grew on his lips as he peppered Theo's hand with more kisses. Sure, he loved Theo's innocence but he was also looking forward to Theo looking at him knowingly instead of in wonder of what it will be like.

He also couldn't wait to feel Theo's hands at work.

But it wasn't time for that yet. Right then, they were just having ice cream and talking. "So my parents OKed the cat."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm," said Liam licking his ice cream. "How about our second date can be to go get you a kitty friend."

Theo pointed at Liam accusingly. "Don't blame it all on me, Liam. I think you want this cat as bad as I do."

"So what if I do," said Liam. "I was never allowed to have a pet of any kind. And maybe using my boyfriend's eating disorder as an excuse to get one is just me being resourceful and not manipulative at all."

Theo laughed. "You used _my_ disorder as an excuse? Why couldn't you use _your_ disorder as an excuse?"

Liam stared at him silently. He licked his cone again. "Because I didn't think of that."

Theo rolled his eyes. "You're so thoughtful, Puppy."

"Puppy?"

"If you're gonna call me Marshmallow, then I'm gonna call you Puppy," Theo told him, reaching his hand up to brush Liam's hair back.

"Why?"

"Why do you call me Marshmallow?"

"Because you've gone soft," Liam informed him. "And you're very sweet. And you might also be starting to fluff out but I really like it."

Theo chuckled at the term 'fluff out.' He hadn't really noticed it. But yeah. He was gaining weight and it was starting to show. He would've been a little more self-conscious about it but Liam, apparently, liked him in his marshmallow state. If he had any say in his gaining weight, he'd be working out and turning it all into muscle but the people at the clinic didn't want him working out. The closest thing he got was yoga in the morning.

"Technically, you gave yourself that name," Liam told him. "I just thought it was cute."

Theo rolled his eyes. "You know, sometimes you're gonna have to make me feel masculine, right? Cute doesn't always cut it. I am a man, alright. I have needs."

"In that case," Liam said standing up after finishing his ice cream cone. "Let's go home, dude. I'm tired. It's been a long week."

Theo stood and pushed in his chair. He stood in front of Liam and placed a kiss on his nose. "It's been a good week."


	9. Chapter 9

"Wake up!"

Theo startled awake and flailed uncontrollably at the horrible sound in his ear.

"Ow!" Theo opened one eye and checked on his bedmate. There was blood. "Theo, I think you broke my nose."

Theo really wished that didn't make him smile but it did. "Serves you right, asshole." He then felt a wet smear on his arm and a hard thump on his chest. "Ah, Liam!" Theo opened his eyes again and saw that Liam had smeared his blood all over his arm. "Why did you hit me there?"

"Because you punched me in the face," Liam whined.

"Yeah? Well, if you let me do it two more times then we're even," Theo argued. Theo sat up and looked at his arm. "You're so disgusting."

Liam kept sniffling as the blood from his nose dripped all down his chin and neck. Theo didn't think he had hit him that hard. "You're mean, you know that?"

"You should be more careful when you wake me up, dummy," Theo retorted. "You know I'm very touchy when I'm asleep.-"

"Oh, boys!" Jenna chided at them. She had been walking by their room (it was officially 'their room' now) and stopped when she saw blood. "What could you possibly be fighting about this early in the morning? And did it really call for drawing blood?"

"I didn't mean to hit him," Theo claimed. "He just startled me and it... happened."

"Liam, get off the bed and go clean yourself up. Don't just sit there and let it drip all over the sheets," Liam's mother ordered him. "And you, get out of bed. It's time for you to eat."

Theo stood up tiredly as Liam went into the bathroom to clean off his face. He unhooked his tube from the machine that had only been on for one hour in the night and tucked it in his boxers before he hobbled into the bathroom to join his boyfriend. Liam had his face hanging over the sink washing all the blood off. Theo wet a rag and started scrubbing Liam's blood off of his arm and shaking his head. "You're such a weirdo."

"You fuckin' broke my nose," Liam reminded Theo as he turned off the sink and grabbed a towel to dry his face. He looked Theo in the eyes and pointed. "Boyfriends don't do that."

Theo huffed. "I didn't do it on purpose." Theo looked at himself in the mirror rubbing his own nose like it was bothering him. But Liam glared at him. "Wait a second. Are you actually angry at me?" Liam's eyes flashed yellow without him realizing. Theo rolled his eyes. "Well, guess what? It's not my problem because I'm not sorry. You very clearly deserved it if you think you can be angry at me for something I didn't mean to do."

Theo watched as Liam closed his eyes and inhaled deeply trying to calm himself. After he exhaled, he opened his eyes. "Sorry," he said quietly.

Theo felt his lip quirk up for a split second before he went back down. "I know you are." Theo saw the uncertain look in Liam's eyes. They were a little bit glossy and... damn it, he was going to cry. Theo sighed and stepped closer to Liam.

"I mean for..." Liam brought his hand up to where Theo's heart was and gently ran his thumb over it. "I meant for hitting you here. I didn't think about it. I know it hurts all the time. I should've been more careful. Or at least hit you literally anywhere else."

Theo looked down at his chest where Liam has put his hand. He smiled and placed his hand over Liam's. Of course, Liam would feel the worst about that. It's probably what made Theo the most upset anyways. Theo's eyes trailed down his own body and he chuckled once they reached the front of his boxers. "Actually, I can think of another place that I wouldn't want you to hit."

Liam's eyes went to down to where Theo's had been and he immediately had to look away. "Right. I won't if you won't."

"I thought you said boyfriends don't hit each other," said Theo.

"They don't," Liam said. "Otherwise that would be called domestic violence and that is very bad."

Theo squinted at Liam. Domestic. They were domestic. He smiled really big. "Domestic." He tried the word out. It seemed kinda silly. But he kinda liked it.

He and Liam stared at each other for a minute. There wasn't really any huge emotion going on between them. They were just standing there and it was getting awkward. Liam looked at the shower and then at Theo. "I call dibs on the shower!"

Theo gasped. "No!"

Liam tried to push Theo out of the bathroom but Theo was too big and strong. But he still tried. Theo ended up pinning him against the bathroom door slamming it shut. "Come on. Let me do it first. You take forever."

Theo rolled his eyes. His showers were fifteen minutes max. Liam just took five-minute showers so his showers seemed really long. He sighed. "How about a comprimise?" Liam raised an eyebrow to see where this was going. "How about we share it?"

Liam glanced above his head at his hands being pinned against the bathroom door with one of Theo's hands. The other hand was on his waist holding him in place along with Theo's hips. He had been damn right about Theo's hands. Amazing things. Amazing.

"Come on. We're boyfriends. We're allowed to do that now," Theo tried to coax him.

"Remember our talk?" Liam reminded him but Theo nodded inching closer and closer to Liam.

"I remember," said Theo. "It's just a shower, little wolf. Not planning on going that far."

Liam grit his teeth. They really shouldn't do this. Sure, Theo wasn't planning on it but people rarely planned on it. He wriggled his way out of Theo's grasp and made him take a step back. "Theo, that's what everybody says-mmm."

Theo smashed his lips against Liam's and pulled him close. He didn't like that Liam wasn't relaxing into the kiss so he kissed him harder. Finally, Liam opened his mouth but only so he could pull away and chastize him. "Theo. What did I say?"

Theo slid his hand under Liam's shirt and felt up and down his abs. "Come on. Show me how much you adore me." Liam sighed. He could see Theo taking advantage of that.  "I need it, Liam." Yep. He was definitely going to take advantage of that. "I need you."

Liam felt a little bit of a spark ignite. Maybe Liam was going to take advantage of it too. He let Theo kiss him again. It was more invasive than the kisses they'd shared before. But Theo probably needed to experiment a little bit with both of their bodies before they went all the way anyways. Liam felt one of those glorious hands slide down his lower back and onto his ass. He let out a squeak when Theo pinched his cheek because, so what if he was a little bit ticklish.

Liam let his own hands grab onto Theo's... love handles. Damn it. That was so cute. Theo was turning into the sexiest marshmallow ever and now he had love handles. Theo pulled back though. "Dude, what are you doing?"

Liam smoothed out Theo's skin on his hips and pursed his lips. "They're called love handles, hun." Theo furrowed his brows at Liam in confusion and Liam pinched the fatty skin at his hips again. Theo looked down at Liam's hands, surprised to find Liam was pinching his skin and it didn't hurt. "They're there so you can hold the one you love nice and close."

Theo pulled off Liam's shirt and tried to pinch his sides. "Why don't you have any then?"

Liam sighed and looked down at his own chest. He'd actually been losing some weight recently due to senior stress and stress about Theo so he was thinner than normal. He sighed. Maybe he needed to start eating more like Theo, like he actually cared about his body. But now, looking at Theo's face, he could see the insecurity in his eyes.

Theo had always sworn he had a positive body image. He swore that wasn't why he had an eating disorder. It was his self-image that was distorted. But there was something there that Theo wasn't willing to admit. "Because we're all different, Theo."

Theo had been so eager just a moment ago. But now he seemed discouraged and... self-conscious. "Theo, what's wrong?"

Theo looked down and shook his head. "Nothing... I just... I didn't realize that I was..." He pinched the little bit of flab on his belly. There wasn't much but he'd never had much of any since he was a little kid. "...changing."

Liam smiled. Theo was using a body positive word choice. He wasn't completely confident in himself yet but he was willing to let himself be. Liam kissed his chin and smiled at him. "You're beautiful." Theo smiled in return. At least, it was easy to convince Theo he was beautiful. It was an entirely different thing to convince him he was pure and innocent.

Liam didn't like it when Theo looked back at his belly and scrutinized it with his eyes. He sighed, getting on his knees and placing a soft kiss to Theo's tummy. He'd get one of two reactions. Theo would either cry or he'd get horny from it. Either way, Liam would be prepared to service Theo how he needed.

He wasn't sure if he was relieved or scared that Theo didn't cry. "Don't hate yourself, Theo," Liam told him in between sweet little kisses and nibbles. He first gripped Theo's thigh massaging it gently. Liam completely lost track of whatever he was going to say next because now he just wanted to kiss and suckle on Theo. His free hand went up to Theo's ass to pull him closer surprising Liam when he felt Theo's erection against his neck and upper chest.

Liam didn't even register the fact that he was trying to take of Theo boxers until it had already happened. He was just gonna go for it but then Theo wasn't there. Liam opened his eyes and saw that Theo had turned on the shower and gotten in. He must've really zoned out for a minute there because... he didn't remember that happening.

Liam stood up and removed his own clothing before hoping the shower with Theo. Liam was a little worried Theo would have changed his mind and not really wanted him there but The moment he entered the shower, Theo grabbed him and pulled them flush together. Liam found himself gripping Theo's back to support him after the rush touching Theo like that gave him.

The next thing he knew, they were kissing again. It was invasive but delicate at the same time. Kinda like their relationship. Kissing wasn't enough though. They both wanted more. But it wasn't the time or the place. It would have to be limited to this for now. They'd been about to give in and go further than that but there was a bang on the door. "Boys, I certainly hope you're not up to anything promiscuous in there," Jenna's voice rang in their ears.

Liam stepped back in embarrassment and did that cute pouty thing with his lips. Theo chuckled stepping back too. Liam chewed on his cheek before calling out in response to her. "No, mom! We're not up to anything promiscuous!-"

"Are you sure-"

"Mom!"

"OK, fine," she said. "Breakfast is ready. I want you both down in five minutes."

Liam looked at Theo with the biggest blush ever. Theo nodded and turned the shower nob to cold. They both were gonna need it.

* * *

Liam and Theo joined Mr. and Mrs. Geyer at the breakfast table at the same time. It was very awkward. They were staring at them. "Mom?"

Jenna smiled at the boys. "So how was your shower?"

Theo felt a little bit of anxiety start to creep up on him. It'd actually been a while since he'd felt that. It had been nice. "It was good," said Liam. "It would've been better if my mother hadn't interrupted."

"Interrupted what exactly?" Liam's mother prodded.

David sighed. "The point is, you boys are turning a new leaf in your relationship and... it's our job to give you guys boundaries. As long as you live under this roof, you'll have to abide by them."

"Boundaries?" Theo questioned.

"I just want to take a moment to point out that Theo is legally an adult and I will be in two weeks so technically we don't have to abide by whatever boundaries you set up," Liam stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"All that we ask," David said raising a hand in defense. "Is that you be careful of what we see. Alright? It's not that we don't love you guys being together. OK? It's not because you're both guys. It's part of being mature. _You_ don't know when _we_ have sex-"

"You guys don't have sex," Liam insisted. David and Jenna both scoffed making Liam wince and bite his wrist. He looked at Theo. "I didn't want to think about that."

"Exactly," Jenna said. "Since you guys are old enough, we're not going to tell you that you can't do it but we are going to tell you to be responsible and mature. Take things seriously."

"We are serious," said Liam. "OK? And sometimes we might not act super mature because we're still just kids. We're not old like you guys. Sometimes we want to have a little fun-"

"Liam, don't get angry at your parents over this," Theo scolded him. "They're just looking out for us. They didn't do anything wrong."

Liam sighed and crossed his arms too stubborn to admit Theo was right. 

* * *

When Liam got off the phone with Deaton he beamed with excitement telling Theo that Deaton had a new batch of kittens at the clinic waiting to be rehomed. Theo mentioned something about going to McDonald's for lunch because he wanted to cheat and eat something crappy for once. He was getting tired of quinoa and avocados. Liam agreed to lie on behalf of Theo and tell Theo's dietitian and his parents they had gone to some healthy place instead.

Theo and Liam walked into the clinic and were greeted by Deaton who hauled them into the back room where all the kittens were. Liam's saw Theo's non-glowing wolf eyes emerge and he couldn't help but grin. Those big doe eyes were the most pure thing about Theo there was. Other than that he was still a virgin. He was kinda afraid to change that too. Like would Theo stop being so innocent if they crossed that line?

Deaton pulled out some droppers and some milk. "It's actually about feeding time. Lucky you guys are here because I need to take care of a client really quick." Deaton gave them brief instructions on how to feed the kittens before he went to help a lady who had just walked in.

Theo took a little dropper and poured some milk into a bowl Deaton had provided. "Theo, they're like you. They need to be tube fed," Liam said filling his little dropper and sticking it in the box. He startled when one of the kittens practically clawed his hand off to get the food. "Geez, nevermind. These guys are vicious when they're hungry."

Theo started feeding kittens and laughing at how Liam suddenly was angry at the little fur balls for clawing him. "They're so little," Theo pointed out. "How are they so little?"

"Because their mom abandoned them," said Liam. "That's why they have to be fed this special milk. Just like you have to be fed special milk."

"It's not milk," Theo informed him rubbing at his nose like he had earlier that morning. Liam noticed that it was on the same side that his feeding tube was in. It must've been bothering him. But Liam didn't say anything. He figured Theo would let him know if it got bad.

"Whatever it is," Liam said. "It's special."

Theo smiled and shook his head. Sometimes Liam could just be so childish. "So which kitty are we gonna take home?"

Liam looked around at all the kittens thoughtfully. "I think you should choose."

Theo smiled at Liam. That seemed like a really important job. He wasn't sure if he'd be completely capable of doing it. Theo didn't say anything else as they kept feeding the little kittens. After all the kittens had been fed, Theo leaned against the counter and dangled his hand in the box. He ran his finger over the little ones as they rolled by. Eventually, all but one of them were cuddled up in a big pile and taking a nap.

Theo looked at the only one left out of the group. It was a tiny little white calico. It squeaked and whined trying to find it's siblings to cuddle up with but they were all the way on the other side of the box. Theo's hand was much closer. So the kitten snuggled up with Theo's hand making him smile really big. He looked at Liam. "I think this one wants me."

Liam felt like a million little piece of his heart shattered in his chest. Of course, Theo would pick the one who was left out. He could sympathize with that and it would probably make him so much more nurturing to the little thing.

Fifteen minutes later, Theo was holding the little baby kitten wrapped up in his jacket. It was actually Liam's jacket but he kinda stole it from him like he did most of his clothes. Deaton told them to keep an eye out for families wanting to adopt some kittens as they were leaving. "Do I get to hold her while you drive?" asked Liam.

"No," said Theo pulling the keys out of his pocket and tossing them to Liam. "You get to drive."

Liam never thought he'd be disappointed to drive Theo's truck.

* * *

They went to the local pet store and bought some kitten formula along with some other things. Liam wanted to buy a turtle but Theo had to tell him 'one at a time.' After that, they went to McDonald's like Theo had asked. "What do you want?"

Theo was petting the baby kitty with one finger while he answered. "Chicken nuggets."

"How many?"

"Twenty." Liam stared at him for a moment. Theo looked up. Liam had a doubtful expression on his face. "Oh. I'm gonna eat all twenty of them. And a large fry. All by myself. All of them."

"OK. If you say so," Liam said. He put in an order at the drive-through and ended up ordering three different sandwiches for himself.

"You gave me crap about getting twenty nuggets while you're over there ordering three sandwiches."

"I haven't been to McDonald's in like three years," Liam defended himself. "I'm going to enjoy myself."

"Oh yeah? Try eleven years," Theo argued. "I haven't been to McDonald's in eleven years."

"Really?" Liam looked at him with surprise.

"Yeah..." Theo trailed off in thought. "I came here for Scott's birthday when we were like seven. Melissa bought me a happy meal. I used to come here with my sister and we would share a twenty piece."

Liam looked at him with concern. How was Theo ready to handle something that sentimental? "Are you sure you want to eat here?"

Theo shrugged. "I've been craving it for like three days. Of course, I want to eat here."

"You're not gonna go on a binge are you?" Liam asked carefully.

Theo hadn't really considered that. He'd just been excited about craving something other than Liam's lips. He looked at Liam. "I don't think so." Theo didn't sound so confident though. "I've never really gone on a binge before so... I don't know what it's like. I do feel like I could eat my twenty piece and your three sandwiches though which probably isn't healthy."

Liam bobbed his head as he pulled up to the window to pay. "You're not eating my sandwiches. And if this becomes an actual thing, we're not coming here again. Ever."

"I think that's probably wise," Theo humbly agreed. Liam plopped the bag of food in Theo's lap. "I'm kinda freaking out now though because what if this makes me go on a binge? Like should I even eat it now?"

"You're gonna do fine, Theo. Just eat your nuggets."

"I can't. I'm holding the kitten!"

Liam sighed. "Put her in the box. That's why we brought it."

Theo put the bag of food in the box.

"I was talking about the cat, not the food."

"I don't want to."

"Might I remind you that I'm driving your truck and you being difficult is making me angry."

Theo sighed begrudgingly and swapped the cat for the food. "There. Are you happy?"

"No. Cause you being moody makes me cranky and, Damn it, Theo, I'm starving."

Theo scoffed. "You should try having an eating disorder then."

"Oh my God. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What the hell is wrong with you? Like why are you even getting mad?"

"Because I have IED, dipshit."

"Fuck your IED."

"Fuck you," Liam bit out.

Theo stared at him blankly before he smirked. "...ok." Then Theo ate his chicken nuggets as if none of that argument had even happened. Liam parked the truck out of the way and stared at Theo with a very annoyed expression. Theo shrugged. "Maybe later though."

Liam unbuckled and hopped out the door. Theo watched as he ran to the McDonald's dumpster and punched it with his fist a few times and let out a squeal of pain before he walked back to the truck and climbed in, huffing and puffing. Liam was really wound up tight about something. They'd probably need to do something about that soon. They were about to that morning but Liam's mom had to go and ruin it.

Theo started rubbing at his nose and cringing. "Bless you," Liam said before Theo could sneeze. But he didn't sneeze.

"I'm not gonna sneeze." Theo plugged the side of his nose that had the feeding tube in it and breathed through his mouth carefully. "It's kinda been bugging me the last few days."

"What has?"

"My feeding tube," Theo explained. "It was just annoying up until today. Like my nose hurts really bad and my throat is sore."

"Why haven't you said anything?" asked Liam.

"Cause I didn't think it would ever get to the point where it caused me pain," said Theo rubbing at his nose some more. He let out a grunt of frustration and whined. "I just want this stupid thing out."

Liam grabbed Theo's had and kissed it. "Hang in there, baby," he told him. Theo looked at him with those sad, pleading eyes and it broke his heart. Liam leaned up on his tiptoes so he could reach across the console to place one of those delicate, loving kisses on Theo's nose. "You'll get it out in no time. Just wait and see."


	10. Chapter 10

Theo's tube didn't stop bothering him throughout the day. He got to the point where all he wanted to do was lay in bed and cuddle his new best friend. Liam sighed. "Do I need to call the clinic and tell them it's bothering you?"

Theo shook his head. He was sitting up for a few minutes so he could feed the kitten. He looked really tired.

"Did you sleep OK last night?" Liam asked. "Did it bother you then?"

Theo shrugged. "I don't know..." His voice was starting to get a little hoarse and Liam could hear him swallowing. "I think I just need like a cough drop or something. Or tea."

Liam ran his hand through Theo's hair a little bit. Both of them had gotten lazy and let their hair just go completely. Theo didn't even bother shaving half the time. Liam loved the scruff of his beard and dreaded the day when Theo decided to shave it. He supposed Theo's soft skin would be just as much of a turn on as his beard was though. Everything about Theo was hot. Even when he was all whiney and needy like now.

Liam kissed his forehead. "I'll get you some tea," he said in a soft soothing voice. It was kind of discouraging when Theo's mood didn't even pick up at the kiss. Usually, Liam's lips were like fire and Theo was a dry forest. "Hey, look up at me," Liam said pulling Theo's chin so he looked up at him. Theo looked at him with tired eyes. Liam smiled and gave him a kiss on the lips. "I love you."

Liam watched as his marshmallow melted. There was that smile that Liam wished he could see more often. So innocent and pure and so precious. "I love you too."

Liam's smile was suddenly just as innocent and precious as Theo's. They kissed each other on the lips tenderly once more. "Why don't you take your new friend downstairs so we can curl up on the couch and watch a movie, huh?"

Theo nodded and stood up. Liam followed him down the stairs and they part ways when Liam went into the kitchen. Once Liam has put on some water, he goes into the living room and finds Theo all curled up on the couch with the kitten sleeping in his hands. It was so precious how gentle he was with her.

Liam found the remote and turned on the TV because, even though Theo was pretty smart in most cases, he couldn't figure out how to work a TV remote for the life of himself. Since Theo had his breakdown, Liam had caught Theo crying because he couldn't figure it out. It's cute but sad. "What do you want to watch?"

Theo looked up at Liam. He'd put the kitten on his face and it just made him that much more precious. "I want to watch one of those HGTV shows."

Liam chuckled. Theo didn't handle super dramatic shows very well. Once, he'd had a horrible panic attack two minutes into a horror movie. If someone on the screen is murdered, Theo just can't watch it. He zones out and shuts down. That's why Theo was really into homemaker and cooking shows. It helped him be a dreamer. "Does it matter which show?"

"Mm. No," Theo said. Liam didn't care either. He put something on and gave the remote to Theo to keep track of. Maybe he hated using the remote but he could still hold it. Theo patted a little spot on the couch. "Sit down."

Liam put his hand in his pockets. "I'm gonna go make your tea really quick, alright? I'll lay with you in a minute, babe." Liam knew Theo pretended to hate being called 'babe' or 'baby' but when it was just the two of them he didn't seem to mind. Theo sighed in disappointment and Liam left to get his tea ready before he started complaining. He'd literally been a moody mess since the moment he'd woken up that day. Liam could still hear the sound of his nose cracking. He didn't want to do anything to make him moodier than he already was.

When Liam came back he sat in the spot where Theo had asked him to. Theo sat up and took a few sips of the tea. He tried not to wince as it went down but Liam could see he was in pain. Liam took the glass of tea and set it on the coffee table. He gave him those silly puppy dog eyes. "Can I hold her now?"

Theo sighed. "Fine," he said giving the kitten to Liam begrudgingly.

"Hey," Liam said spinning himself around on his bum and laying his legs on top. He laid back and rest against Theo's shoulder. He looked over at him and smiled. "You can hold me now."

Theo shifted his arm under Liam's back so he could hold him nice and close. He sighed and nuzzled his nose into Liam's cheek. "I guess my puppy is pretty cute and cuddly too."

Liam laughed and picked up the little kitten holding it up above their faces. "Have you found a name for her yet?"

Theo shook his head snuggling into Liam a little more. "I want you to name her."

"Me?" Liam asked receiving a nod from Theo. "Really?"

"Well, yeah," said Theo resting a hand on Liam's knee. "She's our baby. I picked her out. You get to pick out the name."

Liam's heartbeat sped up a little bit. Theo said 'our baby' as in she was both of theirs. Somehow this made Liam really giddy and excited. "OK," he said taking a good long look at her. She was mostly white but she had black and orange spots all around her back and face. She almost looked kinda like a toasted marshmallow. The thought caused him to giggle. "How about S'mores?"

Theo squeezed on Liam's knee and chuckled. "S'mores it is."

Theo, Liam, and S'mores spent the rest of the day watching HGTV shows on Netflix. Liam's parents eventually came home and started to make dinner but Theo started to feel sick from the smell of it so he had to go outside for a while. Liam wasn't gonna lie. The thought of Theo not eating dinner made him panic a little. But Liam could think of many times he'd gone without a meal and it was fine. Especially when he was already feeling sick and queasy.

Theo went to bed super early cause he wasn't feeling good and he thought that maybe sleeping would help it go away. He kinda regretted eating McDonald's now. But at the same time, those chicken nuggets were so good.

Liam normally stayed up super late on Saturdays but with Theo already in bed, there wasn't much to do. So he pulled out his phone. Apparently, Lydia had sent him a text asking how Theo was doing. Liam smiled. She really cared about Theo and it felt good. Because if Lydia cared that much, then eventually Stiles would too. Whatever was important to Lydia was important to Stiles.

As long as Theo didn't get off track, things with the pack would be golden in no time.

* * *

Liam woke to the sound of coughing. He rolled over to check on Theo but... he wasn't there. He sat up and listened more carefully. Apparently, Theo was in the bathroom. He knew he shouldn't panic yet. Sometimes people just needed to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. And sometimes people also just needed to cough.

But the moment he heard the nails-on-a-chalkboard sound of Theo gagging, Liam knew it wasn't just your average bathroom trip in the middle of the night. He heard more coughing and a whimper as he got out of bed and made his way into the bathroom. Right before he walked in, he heard another gag and the sound of fluid hitting the toilet. Liam cringed and shook his head trying not to picture Theo's vomit quite yet.

But what he saw once he got into the bathroom was much worse. Theo was hunched over the toilet vomiting, yes. But he had his feeding tube in his hands and he was pulling on it. The tube was already halfway out by the looks of it. Liam rushed over to him. "Theo, what are you doing?"

"It's hurting me," Theo said in a dazed, panicked voice. It was like... like he was still asleep. "It's trying to kill me." Theo kept pulling on it and each time he did, he gagged. Liam knew he couldn't put it back in and he couldn't just leave it the way it was. He had to help Theo take it the rest of the way out.

Liam got down on his knees biting his bottom lip. "Are you with me, Theo?" Liam asked gently trying to get Theo back to reality.

"It's killing me," Theo cried. "It's gonna take my heart. I need to get it out."

He was definitely asleep. Liam carefully put a hand on Theo's back and it was then that he realize Theo was having trouble breathing. He rubbed soothing circles on Theo's back as he reached up and grabbed Theo's tube with his other hand. Theo shuddered and sobbed, starting to hyperventilate. This was bringing back way too many horrible memories.

"Shshshsh," Liam hushed him. "It's OK." Theo shook his head before he coughed again and vomited in the toilet. Liam started to pull gently on the tube in his nose. In response to the tension, Theo seemed to straighten up and make choking noises as it was pulled out. Liam didn't want to do any of this. But Theo was helpless on his own. Especially when he was one of these horrible night terrors.

Liam kept pulling and pulling until it was finally out. Theo nearly collapsed at the point. Liam had to catch him. Slowly, Theo was waking up. He knew something had happened. But he knew Liam was there so he felt safe. After Theo had caught his breath he lifted his sagging head to look at Liam with those forest green eyes. He took a look at the coiled up feeding tube in his hands and dropped it like it was burning him.

Liam helped him sit back against the bathroom wall. Theo kept looking at the tube that had somehow ended up outside of his body. "Tell me..." Theo said, voice hoarse. He pulled his hand up to his throat and rubbed at it. "Was it real or was it all in my head?"

Liam leaned against the wall and sat next to him. "A real thing, made you have a nightmare about something that wasn't real. So parts of it are real but the scariest parts aren't," said Liam calmly.

Theo glared at Liam. "Why did you take it out?"

Liam pointed at Theo's tube. "You did that."

The words hit Theo like something really hard. He physically flinched before he covered his ears and pulled his knees up to his chest. Liam put an arm around him and kissed the back of his head. "You were doing so good, Theo. What happened?"

"I... I don't know," Theo cried. "I kept thinking about just pulling it out all day yesterday. But I kept telling myself I'd get to have it out soon anyways so it shouldn't matter."

"It's just a little set back," Liam assured him. "They happen all the time. You don't need to panic over it like I know you want to."

"I don't want them to put it back in," Theo told him bringing his head up from his knees. "I still have nightmares about when they put it in. I can't go through that again or else I'm gonna have to start all over."

Liam wrapped both arms around. "Don't worry about that. OK. We can go back to bed and pick up where ever you're at in the morning. If we have to start over it's OK. It's all part of it."

Theo sniffled and let his legs fall flat to the floor. "Yeah," he agreed leaning against Liam. Liam held him for a few minutes before Theo spoke up. "Will you take a bath with me?"

Liam smiled because Theo remembered the bath Liam had given him the first time this had happened. It was even better that Theo thought of it as something that was going to calm him down and make him feel better. Liam pressed a kiss to his temple. "OK." It played out very similar to the first time. Liam turned on the water and Theo sat leaning against the tub while Liam found some Lavender peppermint bath salts.

The biggest difference to between the scenes was that instead of Liam just helping Theo undress, Theo helped Liam do the same because he wanted him in the bath as well. Theo was pretty shaky and weak but not nearly as bad as the first time it had happened so he needed very little help. Liam was about to get in but he thought of something. "I'm gonna get you something to drink first, alright?"

Theo nodded. "Yeah. That would probably be good."

Liam grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist before he left. Theo was nearly asleep by the time Liam got back. Liam set put an unopened bottle of Gatorade in the bath before he carefully climbed in. Liam had initially sat on the opposite side of Theo but Theo reached out and mumbled for him to come closer. So that how he ended up sitting side by side with Theo in the bathtub at two in the morning.

They didn't say anything to each other. Just sat there and waited for Theo's heart rate to get back to normal. At one point, Liam's mother walked in. She didn't seem to mind that they were both in the bathtub together. She was well aware of how much Liam's presence meant to Theo and having him as close as possible helped a million. She sat on the edge of the bath and brushed back Theo's hair. "How you doin' sweetie?"

Theo shrugged not knowing what else to say.

She rubbed his cheek and looked across the bathroom, spotting the feeding tube all coiled up by the toilet. "Was it bothering you?" Theo nodded. "Here. Let me take a look." She got up and searched the bathroom drawers for a flashlight. She got on he knees and clicked it on. "Here, why don't you tilt your head back and open your mouth. I'm gonna see it it looks irritated at all."

Theo did as he was told, resting his hand in her hand and opening his mouth. Liam sat up to look as well. He hadn't really thought of checking for irritation. Inside the back of Theo's throat was a big red sore where his tube had been. And the inside of his nose was red and eroded too. "Yep. It looks pretty irritated," Jenna said letting go of his head and pulling the flashlight back.

"What should we do?" asked Liam.

"We'll call Melissa in the morning," she said. "For now, you two need to get dried off and go to bed. Theo's gonna need lots of sleep tomorrow." Jenna headed towards the bathroom door to leave. "Good night boys."

"Hey, mom," Liam said before she could leave. "I'm sorry."

"Hm?"

Liam gestured to him and Theo. "About the boundaries. I-uh... didn't think you guys would wake up."

She smiled. "It's alright, sweetie. I'll make an exception in this case."

Liam smiled. "Night mom."

Once she was gone, Liam got out of the bath and dried himself off. "You want me to get you something to wear?"

Theo nodded tiredly. "I'm cold." Liam came back dressed in new pajamas and carrying some sweatpants and a sweatshirt for Theo. As soon as he got Theo in to bed, he fell asleep. The anxiety of his night terror had made him tired and he didn't even bother pulling blankets over himself.

Liam chuckled at that. He pulled out his phone to check the time. But he decided to text Lydia. Sure she was probably asleep right now but that didn't matter. She would see it in the morning and sympathize. All he told her was that Theo was having a really hard night and then he went into the bathroom to empty the tub, throw away Theo's feeding tube and do any cleaning he thought was necessary.

By the time he got back to his bed, Lydia had already responded asking what had happened and if she should come over. Liam chuckled at that.

Liam: No. it's fine.  
He's already sound asleep and he'll probably be that way for most of tonight and tomorrow.

Lydia: What about U? Do U want 2 talk about it?

Liam thought about it before he responded.

Liam: Idk

Lydia: You probs wouldn't have txtd if you didn't want to talk about it.

Liam: I didn't know you were awake. I thought you'd see it in the morning.

Lydia: Stiles was awake and saw it so he woke me up. He was afraid it might be serious. Is it serious?

Liam didn't respond for awhile. He wasn't really sure how.

Liam: Kind of. He pulled out his feeding tube in the middle of a night terror.

Lydia: That sounds serious.

Liam: It's less serious if he eats in the morning. But we'll see.

Lydia: You want me to bring some breakfast in the morning? Would Theo be OK with that?

Liam looked at Theo. There was no telling what would trigger him. This time it was his feeding tube. That didn't have anything to do with social anxiety, did it? Did that mean that literally, anything could trigger him? That was terrifying.

Liam: Not sure. Plan on coming by but it something comes up, I'll let you know.

After that, Lydia tried to figure out what Theo liked to have for breakfast but Liam wasn't even sure what to tell her after the way he'd reacted the just the smell of Liam's mother cooking dinner. After he convinced her Theo might eat bagels, she finally relented and told him to get some sleep.

* * *

To Liam's relief, Theo ate first thing when he got up in the morning. Liam told him that Lydia was coming later with bagels and Theo didn't seem to mind at all. He just shrugged and said he'd have a second breakfast when she came. For what happened to Theo the nigth before, he seemed like he was pretty stable.

Liam left him in the living room with S'mores for a minute so he could show and get dressed. When he came down, Theo was already sound asleep again with S'mores laying on him. Liam smiled at the sight of his two favorite marshmallows. They were so soft and cuddly he couldn't just let this moment slip by without capturing it forever.

So he pulled out his phone and took a picture. He sent it to his mom know she'd love it almost as much as he did. They were so gorgeous. He wasn't just satisfied with a picture though so he took a superzoom video capturing Theo's perfect face and writing on it "I'm so in love" in a swirly font before saving it and posting it to his story.

He knew Theo would get mad at him a little for it but it was too precious a moment to pass up.

He hadn't taken into account the fact that he hadn't exactly told the pack that he and Theo were together yet. They'd told Mason, Corey, and Nolan but they don't really hang out with the others that much so they wouldn't have an opportunity to tell them.

Apparently, Liam just assumed that everyone already knew.

Right away, his phone dinged in response but there was also a knock on the door. Lydia was here and she would love to see Theo in his current sleep, cuddly little marshmallow state. So he opened the door holding a finger up to his lips. "Shsh. He fell asleep."

"Oh," she said walking in. Right away, she saw Theo asleep on the couch with S'mores on his tummy. She resisted her urge to react and handed the bag of bagels she'd brought to Liam. "I guess it's just you and me if he's asleep."

"It's OK," said Liam. "He actually ate something already."

"Well, that's good," said Lydia following Liam into the living room. They sat on the other side of the room and pulled out the bagels so they could eat and talk, hopefully without disturbing Theo. But he was sleeping like a rock.

Lydia got Liam to talk to her about everything that had happened. They were in the middle of a conversation when they heard a dramatic sigh from on the couch. They both looked over at Theo who was still asleep but had shifted a little on the couch. "Theo?" Liam asked, testing to see if he was awake.

Liam got no verbal response but Theo did whimper. Liam and Lydia looked at each other in concern before Liam got up and approached Theo on the couch. "Hey, are you OK?"

Theo sniffled. "It doesn't fit..."

Liam's shoulders slumped. He was having another night terror, wasn't he? "What doesn't fit, Theo?"

"The puzzle piece," Theo whined. "I can't finish it. I'm so sad."

Liam furrowed his brows. Now puzzles were triggering him. What the heck? Liam thought this was going to end in the bathtub like it had the night before but he had been wrong. Because Theo went completely silent and it was as if nothing had happened. Liam looked at Lydia confused.

"Does that normally happen?" she asked.

"Mm... no," said Liam. "I was afraid he was gonna have another night terror. But... his heart rate wasn't up and he doesn't appear to be in any sort of distress. Although he did smell a little sad a moment ago."

"Liam," Theo called out.

Liam looked at Theo. His eyes were closed and his heart rate was still pretty slow. "Yes, Theo?"

"You're an idiot," Theo said bluntly. Liam squinted at him. He had no idea what was going on. He'd never seen Theo do this before. He was still asleep right? Theo chuckled and flug his arm up reaching for something, Liam didn't know what. "I still love you." He definitely had to be asleep.

Liam looked at Lydia as if he were lost. "So apparently, he not only has night terrors but he also sleep talks. I can't say this has happened yet."

Theo did one of those dramatic sighs again and whimpered. "Liam," he whined.

"What?"

"You didn't say you love me back."

Liam scoffed and decided to humor Theo and be all sweet and soft like he wanted. "Of course, I love you, stupid. You're my marshmallow, remember?"

"Yeah." Theo mumbled something indecipherable before he went silent again.

Liam chuckled. "Well, that was a pleasant surprise."

Lydia smiled. "Speaking of surprises... I just got a text from Stiles asking 'what the hell is up with Liam's story?'"

Liam suddenly frowned. "I am an idiot."

"An idiot in love, apparently," she said knowingly. "I think you two are gonna work out. I know that Scott and Stiles are probably gonna be a little weirded out about it at first but they'll get used to it."

"Well, we're gonna have to work out. We're each other's anchors." Liam smiled at Theo's sleeping form. Someday, everyone would see just how soft Theo was like Liam could see. And they would love him to pieces like Liam does too. "We're taking it pretty slow though. Don't want to rush into things and trip over ourselves."

"That's always wise," she said. "How long do you think he'll be asleep for?"

Liam shrugged. "I don't know. He's always been really weird about sleeping. Like sometimes, he'll be asleep for fifteen minutes and then others he'll be asleep all day. I guess it just depends on how much sleep he needs and after what happened last night, it's hard to say. I'm afraid to wake him up though."

"Don't wake him up," Lydia said. "If he wants to see me, I can come back another time. He should rest. I kinda wanted to talk to him about getting together with Stiles but after what happened last night I'm kinda afraid to bring it up."

"I can bring it up with him," said Liam. "He's not afraid to tell me no if something bothers him so it's probably better that way anyways."

"Alright," she said standing up and grabbing her purse. "I'm gonna use your restroom before I go."

"Yeah. It's just down the hall and to the left," said Liam. As Lydia went to the bathroom, Liam carefully sat on the edge of the couch next to Theo. He tenderly brushed some of his hair aside and caressed his cheek. He was so in love. Liam leaned down and placed a kiss on Theo's soft, soft lips. He was surprised when he received a response. Theo's lips reached for more when Liam pulled away.

His eyes were open now and he was actually awake. "Well, that's a nice way to wake up," Theo said in a still drowsy voice.

Liam chuckled. "Morning, sleepy head. You get over your puzzle piece that didn't fit?"

Theo squinted at him. "What?"

"You were talking in your sleep? Did you dream about building a puzzle?"

Theo frowned at him. "I don't remember dreaming. A puzzle?"

"Yeah," said Liam. "You were crying because the last piece didn't fit and you couldn't finish it."

"That's a stupid reason to cry," Theo said bluntly. "I would never-"

"You totally cried because you couldn't finish your puzzle," Liam teased him.

"Why would I dream about something as lame as a puzzle?" asked Theo. "I've never even done a puzzle."

Liam's jaw dropped. "You've never done a puzzle before-"

At this point, Lydia came out from the bathroom and Theo's attention was divided. "Hey," Theo said when he saw her as if he had something important to tell her. "I've been meaning to ask you where you got your tattoo."

Lydia smiled at the sight of a fully awake Theo. "Uh. Yeah. I can send you the link to their website."

Liam furrowed his brows at Theo. "You want to get a tattoo?"

"Yeah," said Theo. "I should get a tattoo."

"You never talked to me about this," said Liam.

"Cause I wanted to talk to Lydia about it," Theo said almost glaring at him.

"I want a tattoo, too," said Liam.

Lydia showed Liam her tattoo. "This is what he's talking about. It's the symbol for eating disorder awareness."

Theo laced his fingers into Liam's. He didn't squeeze or pull. He just wanted to touch his anchor. But he didn't seem nervous either. By the looks of it, Theo seemed better than Liam had probably ever seen him. He hoped it wasn't a false happiness and that Theo wasn't just lying to himself and forcing himself to be happy. He knew They tended to fake emotions when he felt like he was supposed to feel a certain way. Liam was teaching him that he was only supposed to feel however he actually felt. he shouldn't have to pretend.

"I think I want to design something that has the symbol in it," said Theo. "You should get a tattoo with me, Liam. That would be so much fun."

Liam loved it when Theo got like this. He did it when they watched the HGTV shows too. Dreaming and building the life that he wanted. It was a good thing for him to do. It meant he actually saw himself having a future. "Theo, I'm not eighteen yet. I can't just go get a tattoo."

"Your birthday is only in like two weeks," Theo argued.

"Sounds like a good birthday present, Liam," Lydia said taking Theo's side. Not that Liam was really against either of them.

Liam smiled. "I think so too." The smile Liam got from Theo in response was a good enough birthday present as far as Liam was concerned. But it would be great to get a tattoo with his boyfriend and anchor on his eighteenth birthday. It'd be fun to do a lot of other things with him too.

Since Theo was awake, Lydia decided to stay and chat. Liam was happy with how well Theo was suddenly socializing with someone other than him but he was still skeptical of how sudden it was. There had to be something Theo wasn't telling him.

Then the issue of his feeding tube came up and it started to maybe shed some light on things. "I actually feel so much better now that it's out," Theo explained to Lydia. "It was like..." he paused trying to come up with the words. "Pretty much my whole life I haven't had control of things that should be my own and... having the tube in kind of took away something that I really need control over."

"So it's kind of freeing to have it out?" Lydia asked.

"Yes," Theo said as if it were what he was trying to say all along. "I feel like I'm in control of what I eat now and so I'm not afraid to eat. Normally, my biggest source of anxiety is people but right now it's if they're gonna put the tube back in. I don't want to go through that again."

"Well, I don't see why they would have to put it back in," said Liam. "You're not malnourished anymore and you're eating at least six times a day, even if it's never a full meal. You were down to one hour a night on the tube. I think putting it in would be more of a hassle than getting you to eat a few more calories before you go to bed."

"Maybe you should tell them that the tube was having some effect on your anxiety. That would give them another reason not to do it," Lydia said.

"Melissa told my mom they'd have to wait a while before they could put it back in anyways if your insides are still raw from whatever the tube was doing to you," Liam offered. Theo smiled a little and bumped into Liam with his shoulder to show his appreciation that Liam was being so reassuring. Liam leaned into Theo and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

The room was quiet for a little bit before Theo spoke up. "I'm hungry."

Liam sighed and pulled out his phone to check the time. "It is almost lunchtime. You should eat something." He looked back at his phone. He had a billion messages from Scott, Stiles, and Malia in response to his story. His heart rate spiked in panic. He needed to think of something else. "So what do you want for lunch?"

"Definitely _not_ McDonald's or chicken nuggets."


	11. Chapter 11

Liam had talked to Theo about meeting up with Stiles and Lydia sometime. Theo didn't object at all. In fact, he smiled and told Liam that it would be a challenge he was willing to face as long as his anchor was there with him. Liam, of course, wouldn't have let it happen any other way. So they planned on meeting for an early dinner on Tuesday night. It was a double date of sorts.

It was weird how the pack and the clinic had suddenly switched roles though. Because even though it was amazing he was eager to patch things up with Stiles, he didn't want to step foot in the clinic. Liam knew why too. He didn't want them to put the tube back in. Maybe that's why he was so eager to get with the pack again. Because he thought if he managed to be perfect in all the other areas of his life, the clinic would see it and let him go.

But the clinic was very strict about their programs. If you started, you had to finish.

Liam literally had to get out of the truck and walk over to Theo's side and force him to get out. It broke Liam's heart. And he was afraid his hand was gonna get broken too because of how hard Theo was squeezing it as they walked through the clinic doors. Liam did need to be at school but he'd stay as long as Theo needed him to. Or at least until they finished talking about the feeding tube situation.

Liam was kinda shocked the way Theo actually cried when he told the doctor about what happened. He smelled like he was ashamed. Shame was one of those emotions that was heavy on Theo. It meant a lot to him and it hurt him like hell. That's part of why he had an eating disorder in the first place.

Liam knew what Theo was doing in his head. He was picturing the worst scenario possible. Probably the doctor yelling at him, maybe even physically harming him, telling him what he did was wrong, and then bringing in some orderlies to hold him down while they shoved the tube into his nose and down his throat.

But the doctor, like he was probably trained to do for all the special case-patients, was sympathetic towards him. "That doesn't sound fun, Theo," the doctor told him in a kind voice. "Do you mind if I take a look? I heard there were some sores in your throat and nose. I'd like to see what's going on."

Theo nodded, those shameful tears in his eyes, and opened his mouth. The doctor shined a light in there and the looked inside of his nose. "Alright. So your sores are starting to heal up. That's good. What's even better is that you don't have your feeding tube anymore."

Liam put an arm around Theo's should and shook him a little in a comforting way. Theo tensed up a little bit. He didn't want to give into any false hope.

The doctor smiled. "We're gonna take another look at your meal log and your calorie intake log. You are eating on your own so you don't have a very good reason to be on the tube anymore. Besides, you don't like that thing very much, do you?"

Theo shook his head tentatively. It made Liam kinda sad how Theo was always on his toes around doctors. Even Liam's dad was a bit of a trigger for Theo sometimes. The Surgeon. Come on. That's gotta be a pretty intimidating "boyfriends' father" for Theo especially to have to impress. Not that Theo had to impress David in any way because David had pretty much become Theo's father like he had Liam's.

The doctor gave Theo a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry. You won't have to have it in again. As long as you're able to stay healthy, it won't go back in. And right now, despite having a little setback, you're doing great Theo."

"So no feeding tube?" Liam questioned just to be sure.

"Nope," said the doctor. "No feeding tube. He can back off the calories a little as well. Not a lot. You have to, no matter what, eat at least two thousand calories a day. If you can try and eat more. Just have a goal of twenty-five hundred, alright. I know it's a lot but we'll step it down every week. You have to be able to eat that many calories for when we start letting you exercise more aggressively."

'When's that?" Theo asked.

"Next week probably," he responded. "Just a little bit of exercise to get all those calories we've been pumping into you to turn into muscle. You'll get a personal trainor to help you through it."

Liam smiled and elbowed Theo. "You get to exercise, Theo. You've been bugging me about that for days."

Theo shrugged. He was still processing that he didn't need his feeding tube anymore. And that he would also get to lay off the calories a little. And that he would get to exercise a bit eventually. He's been wanting to do something active. Being stagnant was messing with his head. He just wanted to go for a quick run and get his blood pumping or something, make him feel alive.

"You're going home at three the next two weeks, right?" the Doctor clarified. Theo nodded in response. "Have you had any luck with natural anti-anxiety solutions?"

Theo shrugged. Liam bumped him with his elbow to wake him up a little. "Yeah," said Theo. "Um. Lavender oil helps. It's in the bath salts that Liam used the other night when I had my episode. It helps a lot."

"Well, hopefully, once we get some exercise worked into your day, you'll feel a little better. You haven't been taking your medicine at all have you?" Theo shook his head. "Good. Good. Alright. Do you have any questions?"

Theo finally looked up at the doctor. Liam could see the way he was eyeing him. It was with those onyx, wolf eyes that Theo had. Like he was being all defensive and just really didn't want to trust anyone right now. Liam stiffened. "Are you sure they don't have to put it back in?"

The doctor nodded. "You won't need it. Theo only scenario in which you ever have a feeding tube again is if you have a relapse and end up in a state like you were when all this started."

Liam literally felt the relief slowly seeping out of Theo. He could tell he was afraid to just be completely relieved but he was letting himself adjust to being comfortable in this place again. He smiled when Theo took a deep breath and looked at him. Theo quickly leaned into a hug and exhaled against Liam's shoulder. Liam hadn't realized that Theo being all tense and nervous had made him on edge as well. So now they were both relieved.

it came time when Liam had to go to school. Well, actually, he was already supposed to be there but he'd rather get suspended again or even expelled than make Theo go through that doctor appointment alone. He and Theo was in the entrance of the clinic saying goodbye to each other. They hadn't been apart from each other in over a week and it was weird how they'd easily grown used to it.

"I'll see you later," Liam said to Theo. One hand was on Theo's hip, the other in his pocket reaching for the keys to Theo's truck.

Theo gripped Liam's elbow and sighed. Those dark, doe eyes were back. Liam was so in love with every part of Theo. The tenderness of his human side, the cuddliness of his wolf, and even the sassiness and playfulness of his coyote. They worked in perfect harmony when he was healthy. But apparently, today was completely Theo's wolf and he wanted to be with his pack, Liam.

"I'll be back before you know it," Liam said quietly. "You can text me alright."

Theo kept looking at him with those pleading eyes. Damn it. He was so not going to graduate at this rate. Theo placed his hand on Liam's back and pulled their bodies flush together into a hug. "Just stay for a few minutes, alright?" Theo wrapped his arms around Liam. "I just need you right now, OK?"

Liam's heart melted as he returned the hug. He kissed his shoulder. "I'm always gonna be there for you, Theo. Whether you need me or not." Liam was surprised when the words made Theo cry. Sure, he's been a lot more emotional recently than he ever has been but it still surprised Liam when he cried over little things like that. And it broke his heart that Theo had become so soft.

But he was learning, not just to get what he needed, but what he wanted. And Theo needed Liam and wanted him. Theo did need Liam to leave so he could learn to grow on his own but he wanted Liam to hold him for a little bit first and there was nothing wrong with that. Even if it made Liam a little late for school.

Theo had basically cut himself off from wanting things after he realized what a horrible selfish person he'd always been. So learning to be ok with wanting a few things for himself every now and then was a bit of a challenge. He was just afraid he'd go and want everything he couldn't have. But Liam was something he was allowed to have. And Liam's love was another thing he was allowed to have. He did need it but he also wanted it with a burning passion that sometimes went in too many directions at once. He couldn't keep up with it.

Liam stayed with Theo for ten more minutes. He whispered sweet things in his ear, gave him reassuring kisses, and told him that if he made it through the day he'd take him out on a date. At that point, Theo was feeling a little better and he smiled a little. Liam leaned in one last time and kissed him on the lips. "One more thing, I need to tell you before I go."

"Hm?"

Liam grabbed onto Theo's side with one hand and pinched his cheek. "You are beautiful."

Theo blushed and let out a faint chuckle. "Thanks. You're pretty good lookin' too," Theo told him before he gave Liam a once over. Suddenly, his wolf eyes were gone and they were that emerald green.

Liam's eyes widened in surprise at how quickly that had happened. "Weird?"

"What?"

"I'm pretty sure it's because you're a genetic chimera but your eyes literally just went from almost black to bright green in an instant. It's insanely amusing."

Theo looked at the ground and smiled again before he looked up at Liam. "Yeah. My eyes change color depending on my mood I guess. Is that weird?"

"Well, yeah but in the best, most sexiest way possible," Liam said dreamily. "It's so beautiful."

Theo sighed in frustration because he really wanted Liam to stay but... "Liam, you're late."

"I know. I know," Liam said before he had to kiss Theo one more time. "I'm going." Another kiss. "Bye."

Theo waved as Liam left. "Bye." They were so in love.

* * *

"Where do you want me to take you on a date?" Liam asked Theo.

Theo didn't hesitate to answer. "Somewhere I can eat a burrito."

Liam had noticed Theo's strange obsession with burritos. Even before he had his breakdown, Theo seemed fond of burritos. Liam hardly ever saw him eat anything but if he did, it was a burrito. Cause apparently, burritos make him happy. "What kind of burrito?"

"Like a huge ass burrito," Theo told him.

"You want an ass burrito? I've never heard of that?"

"Dude. Please do not ruin burritos for me," Theo said in an annoyed tone. "They're literally the only food that I want to eat sometimes. Just let me have that one thing."

"Fine. I'm sorry," Liam said. "I just couldn't resist."

Liam was driving Theo's truck and taking him out for a bite like he promised he would. They hadn't really been on a date just the two of them yet so Liam was pretty happy about taking him out.

They ended up at an outside table at this family Mexican restaurant. They ordered a 'huge ass burrito' for the two of them to share. "Did you have a good day at the clinic, babe?"

Theo took a big gulp of his ice water and crunched on the ice a little bit. "Yeah. It was pretty good. Art therapy was combined ages today so I got to help Allie with her art. She's such a cutie."

"She is a cutie," said Liam remember her fondly. "How's she doing?"

"She's getting better but when she saw me today she got sad because I didn't have a feeding tube anymore." Theo stirred his water with the straw momentarily while he thought. "It kinda made me sad about pulling it out."

"Are you maybe afraid that you guys won't have that bond you did before when he didn't have the feeding tube?" Liam offered. Sometimes both Theo and Liam didn't understand why they felt things. But they used each other as a sounding board and gave feedback of what they saw or possibilities the other might not have thought of yet. It proved to help their relationship in lots of ways.

"Probably," said Theo. "But I told her that she'd get to have hers out soon too because she's getting really healthy."

"Is she?"

Theo shrugged. "I mean... I think so. She's been gaining weight which is good. I got to meet her dad today. He was pretty nice. He's about to graduate with a degree in engineering. I guess that's why his mom has been helping out with Allie a lot recently. So he could finish school and get a job to support her."

"I hope my mom does that," Liam said without thinking.

Theo furrowed his brows. "What? When you have kids?-" Theo kinda froze a bit. If Liam had kids then... technically, they would be their kids. Right? "When... we... have kids?"

The next minute and a half, Liam and Theo were staring at each other in confused, unsure thought. Suddenly, a burrito bigger than both of their appetites was set in front of them. Theo was ready to dig in but Liam's eyes were bugging out. "Wow. That's one huge ass burrito."

The rest of the date was like any other conversation between them. There was sweetness but also bickering, harsh honesty but also sugar coated things. Liam noticed how Theo's eyes changed colors all the time now. Now that he knew it was an actual thing that happened to Theo and it wasn't just something in his head, he paid very close attention to it.

"Can I get a picture of you?"

Theo squinted at Liam in confusion. He looked down at his half of burrito and noted how it was almost gone. Then he looked down at what he was wearing. It's not like he was wearing anything fancy. Just some ripped jeans, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap. Nothing about this constituted a picture of him. "Why?"

Liam smiled. "Well, it is our first date with just the two of us and you don't have your feeding tube in anymore." Theo didn't take a whole lot of pictures while he had his feeding tube in. It's not that he felt self-conscious in it but he didn't want to have all those memories of that stupid thing sticking around. "And I think you look cute," Liam said as Theo took a bite of his burrito.

Liam winked at Theo when he saw a faint blush. Theo had a hard time chewing since Liam had made him smile. It was precious. Liam let Theo finish chewing before he snapped a quick picture of Theo smiling and holding up his burrito. Liam had to post it on instagram, not caring about the backlash he'd get like before. That had all been cleared up so it couldn't happen again.

Theo slowed down towards the end of his burrito like maybe he was feeling full or having a hard time finishing it. Which was understandable because it was a huge burrito, even just eating one half. But he knew he'd need the extra calories so he forced himself to finish it before he and Liam went on a walk around town.

Neither of them brought of the notion of them having kids again. It was definitely too early in their relationship to talk about that. It was literally their second date and they hadn't had sex yet. Not that them having sex would somehow form a child. But it was still vital to them being parents. They didn't talk about it but it was definitely soemthing they were going to think about now that it had been brought up.

* * *

"OK. So I'm not saying that I don't like double dates..." Theo started as he walked in on Liam getting dressed in their room. "... but how often are we going to go on them. Again, it's not that I don't want to go on this date tonight or that I never, ever want to go on double dates but I kinda want to go on more dates just the two of us and no one else."

Liam pulled a nice shirt over his head and approached Theo. "We'll go on a lot more dates just the two of us. I promise."

"Also, it's not that I want to go on dates all the time because I don't feel like dating it our thing," Theo continued. He wasn't being very clear.

Liam looked at him, head tilted in vexation. "You do realize that we are dating now, right?"

"Yes," Theo said as if it were obvious. "I realize that but I just don't think dates are our thing. We already know each other better than anyone else and neither of us really like to go to busy places.-"

"Not all dates are at busy places, Theo," Liam told him. "It's our relationship. We can date however we want. If we want to do a date night at home, we can do just that. If we want to go for a walk as a date, we can do that. A date can be anything, Theo. It doesn't have to be at some place where there are tons of people and a lot of things that could potentially set both of us off. In fact, I think it's best if we don't go on dates in those kinds of places because neither of us handle that kinda thing well."

"...I like walks," Theo said combing his hand through his hair while he checked it in the mirror.

Liam smiled at Theo. "You're cute." Liam kissed his cheek making him blush. "You're so damn cute. But Theo," Liam said grabbing Theo's hand and smacking it like he was a kid reaching into the cookie jar without permission. "You can't just up and tell your boyfriend that you think dating might not be our thing! Like did you even think about what that might mean?"

Theo stared at him with a betrayed look on his face in response to Liam smacking his hand. But then slowly realization hit him. "Uh... now that I think about it maybe I should've thought about how I phrased what I was thinking-"

"Uh huh," Liam agreed sassily. "You probably should've." Liam smacked Theo's hand again. "Don't do that again."

Theo pulled his hand back. "Stop doing that."

"You can't just tell your boyfriend that kinda thing! You fuckin' scared me!"

Theo pouted. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like tha-" Liam sighed causing Theo to silence himself and cross his arms. "I didn't mean to make you upset."

Liam looked away and bit his cheek really hard taking a deep breath. He looked back at Theo. "I'm sorry. I'm overreacting." He took in a deep breath. "I know logically that it's not that big of a deal but... I just can't help it."

Theo was now looking at Liam like he's been hurt. Or maybe he was afraid of getting hurt. Whatever it was, Liam didn't like that look on his face. He also hated that his overreaction to something that wasn't even Theo's fault had made Theo's eyes water a little more than normal.

"And this is where our relationship is going to face some challenges," Liam pointed out. "Sometimes I overreact. Most of the time you roll with it and bring me back to the ground but sometimes, you're gonna be sensitive and it's gonna hurt you. And I'm sorry. OK? You have to know that I don't mean to do it.-"

"I know," said Theo. "I mean, I was just being insensitive to you too. I didn't think about how-"

"I don't want you to change, alright," said Liam. "Just be honest with me. Alright? I know that occasionally I might overreact to your blunt honesty but it's one of my favorite things about you. I don't want you to stop. I just want you to know that I love you and when I overreact-"

"I've said it once," Theo said. "I'll say it again. Fuck your IED."

Liam smiled. He knew only one responce that was good enough. "Fuck your eating disorder." That definitely called for a kiss.

* * *

Liam and Theo sat next to each other, pretty close, arms and legs nearly tangled together. They'd unintentionally worn similar pants and black jackets to the date. Not that either of them really cared. The more fashion-forward of the two was in the process of recovering from an eating disorder so worrying about what he wore wasn't his priority.

When Stiles and Lydia showed up, Lydia took charge. She sat across from Theo and next to Stiles giving her leverage incase something happened between the two. She was ready to protect and punish whoever needed it. "So I heard you don't have to get your feeding tube put back in," Lydia started things off on a good note. "That's pretty exciting."

Theo smiled at her. "Yeah. I have to be more consistent with my calorie intake but at least now I have complete control over everything so it's a challenge that I'm willing to accept."

Liam 'accidentally' kicked Stiles in the shin and then glared at him. "Oops," he said unenthusiastically.

Suddenly, Liam was met with three glares, one from each of the people at the table. Stiles kicked Liam back. "Eye for an eye."

Theo and Lydia looked at each other in annoyance. Sure, Stiles and Theo had a thing. But Stiles and Liam would always have that other thing. You know? The thing were Stiles is basically his jerk older brother that always picks on him and Liam wants to pester the crap out of him in retaliation.

Stiles looked away from Liam and at Theo. "So what I want to know is how you two happened. Like no one saw that coming," said Stiles. "Not that it's a bad thing. I just did not expect it."

Theo looked at Liam, think he might rather answer but he was busy playing with his straw wrapper. Theo looked back at Stiles. It was weird to think he'd ever had anxiety around him. Stiles kinda did seem like a jerk sometimes but he was mostly just annoying. "I don't even know. It was kinda just..." Theo looked at Liam again trying to find a way to describe it.

"I guess since we're anchors we have this bond but..." Theo stirred the ice in his water glass. "I guess it just wasn't enough. We were kinda circling each other but keeping our distance because of..." Theo gestured to himself. "My recovery. And then last week, Liam spent a lot of time at the clinic so we learned a few things about our relationship and that it could even help with my recovery if we go about things the right way."

Theo didn't mention the whole sex part but Stiles did not need to know that.

"Does it?" Stiles asked.

Theo smiled at Liam who had somehow found something to chew on. "I think it's easier when I'm allowed to love him-" Stiles flinched with a white speck hit his cheek. "Liam!" Theo chided. 

Liam had somehow thought it would be funny to shoot a spit wad through his straw at Stiles. Liam shook with laughter as Theo ripped his straw away from him and swatted him on the head. "Ow!"

"Don't be an idiot."

Liam laughed and poked at Theo's side where he knew he was ticklish. "You love me anyways."

"You..." Theo didn't even know what he was going to say. All he could do was shake his head as Liam laughed at him. Theo rolled his eyes and looked across the table at Lydia. His eyes landed on her neckless. It was of that symbol. The one for eating disorder awareness and recovery. He smiled and pointed to it.

Lydia put her hand up to it and glanced down at her chest. "Oh. Yeah. My mother gave this to me when I was fifteen. I'll cherish it forever." Theo watched as she played with it in her fingers. It was very elegant, had to be genuine silver. He probably wouldn't ever wear something so elegant but he like the idea of it. 

"Liam, would you knock it off?" Stiles snapped at Liam, who had apparently shot another spit wad at him.

"No," Liam said flatly.

Stiles grunted in annoyance and looked at Theo. "Can you please make him stop?"

Theo looked at Liam, not exactly sure why he was even in this pestery mood right now. But it was definitely something he and Stiles did with each other on a regular basis. But more in reverse. Stiles used to try and set off Liam's IED and now Liam was getting his sweet revenge. But this wasn't really the time or the place for that. "Liam..." Theo said unconvincingly.

He looked at Stiles and Lydia for a moment before he pulled Liam close and whispered something in his ear. Liam had a look of contemplation on his face. Lydia and Stiles probably had the wrong idea. They probably thought Theo was promising something really dirty to Liam, something they really didn't want to think about. But really, Theo was threatening Liam's right to kiss his tummy for an entire week unless he started acting like an adult.

Liam looked at Theo in almost horror. He really had a thing for kissing on Theo's tummy. Like he'd been planning on doing it that night but it's not like he could do it against Theo's will. "Fine," he said before he took a sip of his water.

Theo grinned. He knew Liam way too well.


	12. Chapter 12

Theo ordered the thing on the menu with the highest calorie count because he might not have eaten lunch out of spite for his dietitian. She was seriously annoying. It's not like anyone was going to question him for ordering the unhealthiest, most fattening thing on the menu. They all knew he had an eating disorder so he could definitely get away with it.

Besides, Stiles had ordered the same thing. Stiles was different though because he didn't have an eating disorder. He was just very unhealthy and had the metabolism of a freight train so it never showed. Theo's calories were showing now though. Not that he cared all that much. Liam seemed to like it more than he should and Liam's opinion was ultimately the only one he cared about. At least when it came to his body. His heart, however? He was still learning to give himself a break over the things he'd done in the past.

Usually, Stiles was the first one to bring up his past. Every time it would break something inside of Theo. He'd feel a little sicker with every blow someone took to his ego. It wasn't long before he didn't even have an ego anymore and all he was was just walking pile a shame and anxiety that couldn't bother to keep his food down if he ate any at all.

But this Stiles was different. And so was Theo. Theo hadn't exactly been very healthy, both physically and mentally, when Stiles had done and said those things. It had probably been out of jest or a very minor assault but to Theo, they had felt like stabs to his sister's heart. He knew Stiles was sorry for the way he'd treated him.

Theo had been sorry for what he'd done. If he hadn't changed, he'd probably be getting his sweet revenge on Stiles and making him feel all the pain he'd ever felt. But Theo was different now. He knew that making Stiles feel bad for the way he'd treated him, wouldn't help him get over it; it wouldn't help him with his recovery. The best thing he could do was forgive Stiles and make honest friends with him.

He could tell Stiles was a little anxious. It honestly wouldn't take much to do what Stiles had done to him. And if he managed to get him to stop eating, he'd actually look like he had an eating disorder because of his crazy fast metabolism. But Theo didn't even want to do that. It felt weird, but he didn't want to hurt Stiles even after how he'd suffered partially because of him.

"How many calories are the school lunches usually?" Liam asked out of curiosity.

Lydia thought about it carefully, trying to remember what school lunches were even like. "Probably about six hundred. Why?"

Liam shrugged. "I don't. I guess being around Theo the last few weeks has made me realize that I haven't exactly been taking care of myself. Like sometimes I just forget to eat and I've been really stressed out lately so that doesn't help."

Theo stopped himself before he took a bite of his pizza. "Why are you stressed out?"

"Because of everything," Liam said. "I'm about to graduate high school and I still haven't applied for any colleges. I don't even know what I want to do. And I also feel bad because Theo over here is forcing extra calories on himself and I just forget sometimes. Like how is that even fair?"

"Well, to be fair..." Theo said. "I skipped lunch today so this is just me trying to catch up."

"Why did you skip lunch? Are you OK?" Liam asked voice full of concern.

"Yeah," said Theo. "I just hate my dietitian and wanted to piss her off. So I skipped lunch."

Liam sighed and looked at Theo like he didn't know what to do with him. "Is that why you ate a crap ton when he got home?"

Theo nodded while he chewed his big bite of pizza. "I need to eat nine hundred calories before I go to bed."

"Well, your pizza is not nine hundred calories. I can tell you that much," Liam told him stabbing at his pasta salad with his fork.

"I know," said Theo. "I'm gonna get dessert."

"Mm. I should get dessert to," Stiles said as he swallowed the last bite of his pizza. Somehow he'd managed to eat it all of his meal in like four minutes.

Theo was still on like bite number three. He took forever to eat. But that because he was pacing himself. Just like Diana had taught him. One bite at a time. Lydia gave Stiles a look of disgust as he quickly drank the rest of his soda. "How did you eat that so fast, Stiles?"

Stiles put a hand over his mouth to cover up a belch. "I was hungry."

Theo scratched at him nose. Ever since the tube had been taking out, it had been a little itchy and dried out. But it was definitely better than having the tube in. Now he had complete control over what he ate. Which is probably why he hadn't eaten lunch. His dietitian was controlling and he didn't want any of that.

"So, Liam," Stiles said propping his elbows up on the table. "I hear the birthday is coming up. Whatcha gonna do?"

Liam smiled at Theo. "We're gonna go get tattoos," Liam said with excitement hidden in his voice.

Stiles frowned. "You know they have to burn them into you guys, right?"

"Yeah," said Liam. "We've talked about it. Theo said that he has to deal with fire all the time anyways." Liam's eyes flashed gold at Theo causing Theo to wink in return.  Liam _was_ like fire. He was warm and bright but also scary sometimes.

"I fell in love with fire," Theo told Liam in a low voice. "I can more than deal with it. I can light it. I can put it out. I can blow it..." Liam choked a little at the one. "...in the right direction," Theo finished patting Liam on the back as he chuckled a little. "Not what you're thinkin', pup." Theo leaned in and whispered into Liam's ear, "We both know how you feel about my hands."

Liked accidentally swallowed and ice cube at the thought of Theo's hands on him like that. Sometimes he wondered why they hadn't been. But then he remembered that they were taking it slow. Someday soon he'd get to feel those hands but not quite yet.

Stiles squinted at them weirdly. Yeah. That was two times Theo whispered something questionable into Liam's ear and got a reaction from him. It was probably rude and inappropriate to do that but with the reactions he was getting he couldn't not do it. He loved making Liam squirm.

"Dude, you guys need to have sex," Stiles said looking away from them. "There is way too much..." Stiles just waved a hand in their direction and gestured dramatically. "Like seriously. Get a room."

Now Liam was full on coughing and gasping for breath. Theo looked at Stiles and nodded. "You are totally right, you know that? Liam needs to get laid."

"Theo," Liam chided his boyfriend.

"I'm just sayin'," Theo put his hands up in defense. "You're very tense."

Lydia sighed and stood up from her seat. "I'm gonna go use the Ladies' room." She excused herself from the table, probably not wanting to be a part of this conversation. She hadn't expected Liam to get up and follow her. "Liam, what are you-"

"I'm leaving them alone," Liam said. "If they don't kill each other, then I think it's safe to say we just conquered one of Theo's biggest obstacles."

"Just keep an eye on them," Lydia told him carefully. "I want this to go well."

While Lydia used the restroom, Liam kept an eye on Stiles and Theo. He was at the espresso bar waiting in line to order the dessert Theo and Stiles had asked for. He listened in on their conversation, a serious one.

"So uh..." Stiles said. "Now that we're alone I... I want to say I'm sorry for the way that I treated you.-"

"Don't apologize," Theo said. "I know you're sorry and I forgive you."

"Really?"

"Yeah... I realized that not all of the things you said were meant to really hurt me. I just wasn't in a very good place when it was happening so I took it to the extreme. I mean, it doesn't make it right what you did, but what happened to me wasn't entirely your fault. And I did deserve some of what all you guys gave me. What I didn't deserve was what I did to myself and that's my fault..."

Stiles shook his head. "You don't deserve everything bad that happens to you, Theo. And I'm still sorry. Just like you're sorry for what you did."

"I don't want anyone to be sorry anymore," Theo told him firmly. "I just want... everyone, inlcuding you and me, to move on. Not to forget the past but to think more about the future and what we can do to make things better. I've pretty much accepted that I'll be stuck around you guys for the rest of my life so I can't be afraid of you. I'd much rather work my ass off to be someone you guys can trust and care about."

Stiles scoffed and shook his head looking at Liam and Lydia as they waited for the things they'd ordered. "It's not as hard as you think it is, Theo. We do trust you and we do care about you. ...We're kinda actually waiting for you to trust us. And not be afraid of us."

Theo frowned.

"You should hear Scott, man..." Stiles shook his head thinking about something. "Scott came to me after he met with you once you came home after the hospital. He was pretty broken up about how scared you were of him. But he felt horrible because he let it happen to you. We all let it happen. I think we all knew something was wrong on some level but we never thought to do anything about it.-"

"It doesn't even matter," Theo interrupted Stiles. "I mean... I'm better now. I'm not constantly in a state of shame and anxiety. That can do a lot for a person. And so can eating. You don't realize how eating right can make you a much happier person. I could hardly think back then my brain was so messed up. But now I..." Theo smiled. "Well, I honestly wouldn't ask for it any other way. I mean..." Theo was now also watching Lydia and Liam get their desserts. Well mostly Liam. Only Liam.

Stiles also smiled. "I know what you mean."

* * *

Theo had a 32 oz blended coffee drink. It was big, full of sugar, and would definitely help him reach his calorie goal for the day. Within minutes of his first sip, he felt a little more energized than usual. Somehow, the topic of biology had come up and he was rambling about punnet squares at high speed. Lydia was the only one who could keep up, his boyfriend and Stiles just stared at him blankly.

"I'm gonna miss biology so much," Theo said dreamily staring off into the distance.

"Maybe you could major in biology," Lydia suggested.

Theo shrugged. "I don't know. My guidance counselor told me I should probably take a gap year to just focus on my recovery but I wouldn't have anything to do and that would be so horrible. Like what am I gonna do to keep myself busy? And what if Liam is going to college? What am I supposed to do while he's in classes? He doesn't even know where he's gonna go to college either." Theo turned to Liam. "Let's take a gap year together, huh? What do you say? We can be lazy and do nothing with each other for a whole year-"

"Theo," Liam said slowly. "First off, stop talking so fast. And second, I disagree with your guidance counselor because you clearly don't know what to do with yourself without school. Neither of us are going to take a gap year. Let's just... do online school or something.-"

"No. I'm not doing online school," said Theo. "I can't sit at a computer all day.-"

"You know what? We'll figure it out later," said Liam. "We don't even know what kind of degree we're looking for yet. We shouldn't stress over it."

Theo stared at Liam while he drank through his straw. Suddenly, he cringed and pulled back from the drink violently, putting both of his hands up to his head and holding it tightly. Liam asked him if he was OK because Liam was concerned about him every second of the day. "Brain freeze," Theo forced out.

"That's cause you're drinking too fast, honey," Lydia said from across the table. "You need to pace yourself."

Theo looked down at his drink and it was true. It was like more than halfway gone already and he'd barely had it for five minutes. Why did that keep happening to him? Was it normal for people to not even realize that they were eating or drinking something because they were preoccupied with something else? Was it part of his eating disorder?

Theo tried to slow down but everything was happening so slow now and it was making him anxious. Like he could hear everything and see everything and it was all too slow. "Liam, let's go," Theo shook him a little nearly shoving him out of his chair.

"Geez, Theo," Liam whined. "Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down," Theo snapped. "I'm calm now. I just want to go for a walk. Like can we go for a walk? Is there something wrong with me wanting to go for a walk?" Theo grabbed Liam by the shoulders and shook him. "I can't sit still anymore."

Liam looked between Theo and his drink. "Are you feeling OK?"

"I feel great other than the fact that I feel restless," Theo said.

Liam looked away and chewed on his cheek. He was very unhappy about something. "It's the caffeine, isn't it?"

"What?"

Liam looked at Theo. "Have you ever had caffeine before?"

Theo squinted at Liam. "I... uh... I don't know. I mean, probably. It's like in lots of things-"

"Theo, you ordered a drink with eight shots in it," Liam told him. "Why would you do that?"

Theo put the straw up to his lips. "Calories," is all he said before Liam snatched the drink away and told him he couldn't have any more. "Why? I feel fine. I feel great. In fact, I feel amazing. Like give me more of that. I feel so happy right now.-"

"No," Liam said firmly. "You're doing that thing where you react to drugs weirdly and I honestly don't think you should be allowed to finish this."

"But I want it," Theo told Liam, his eyes glowing bright yellow.

Liam snapped his head around to make sure no one could see. "Dude, stop that. Someone's gonna see."

"Stop what?"

"Your eyes," Liam said.

"What's wrong with my eyes?" Theo snapped his head towards Lydia when he felt a tap on his shoulder. She was holding her phone up and showing Theo his eyes. "Whoa. I didn't even realize-"

"Make them stop," Liam hissed quietly.

Theo turned to Liam. "I can't."

"Alright," said Liam standing up. "It's time to go."

Theo gasped as Liam grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of his seat. "Yay. We get to go for a walk."

Liam turned to Stiles and Lydia who had gotten up out of their seats also. "I'm glad we got to do this," Stiles said. "Maybe we could-"

"Yeah," said Liam. "It was great. Let me borrow your sunglasses, Lydia." Liam snatched her sunglasses and went to put them on Theo's face.

Theo flinched away. "What are you doing?"

"Covering up your eyes-"

"Those are girls' sunglasses. I can't wear those," Theo said as if it were the most important and obvious thing in the world. But Liam ignored him and put the sunglasses on his nose. They were only somewhat effective. But better than nothing.

"I'll give them back to you later," Liam told Lydia. "I'll see you guys around." With that, Liam dragged Theo out of there and pulled him down the sidewalk, right passed Theo's truck.

"Where are we going?" Theo asked.

"You need to get the caffeine out of your system. We're going for a walk."

"I'd rather run," said Theo. Then he gasped and came to a halt. "I have an even better idea."

Liam sighed. "Theo,-"

Theo pushed Liam up against a wall at the edge of a building and slammed his lips into Liam's. No one was really around to see them but they were still in public and they hadn't really done anything like this in public before. Theo's mouth tasted like chocolate and coffee. Liam wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Liam pulled back and glared at Theo.

"Theo, do you really have to do this right here, right now?"

"Yes," said Theo abruptly before he slammed his lips into Liam's again. It was aggressive and hot. There were tongues and lips and saliva. And Theo wasn't planning on backing down or slowing down. In fact, he was probably planning on taking it much further if they way he was trying to pull Liam's leg up towards his hip was anything to go by.

Liam had to push Theo off of him. "Theo, stop."

"I need you," Theo said before diving back in for another kiss. But Liam dodged him and escaped his grasp. "Liam, what's the problem?"

Liam was angry. He didn't know who he was angry towards. But He definitely wasn't a fan of Theo right now. He knew it wasn't entirely Theo's fault but Theo should've at least thought about how caffeine would affect him at this hour. And now he was trying stuff when he shouldn't be. "I'm told you to stop."

Theo stared at Liam for a moment. There was no telling whether he was going to get mad or cry at this point. He did neither in the end. "Do you hear that?"

Liam looked around and listened closely. But he didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. "Hear what?"

Theo grabbed Liam's hand and put it over his heart. "It's beating so fast." Liam had noticed that before but he hadn't really said anything. Considering Theo hadn't done anything physically strenuous and hadn't had a panic attack, his heart was beating at an unhealty rate. "Am I going to die?"

Liam's shoulders slumped. OK. Maybe now this was heading in the direction of panic. "Theo, you're not going to die.-"

"You can't let me die a virgin, Liam," Theo begged. "Come on. Please?"

"Ugh! Theo-"

"Please. Please. Please. Please. Please-" Suddenly Theo's fangs shot out of the roof of his mouth and he accidentally bit his lip, piercing the skin and drawing blood. Theo yelped and covered his mouth with his hand. When he pulled it back and saw blood, he looked at Liam in horror. "I'm gonna die!"

Liam rolled his eyes. "You're not going to die. I promise. Let's just go for a nice walk and get some of that energy out of you. I can guarantee that you're not going to die."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Theo doesn't think he's going to die. In fact, he thinks he can't die. "I mean, I already died once! Can I really stay dead? That is the question my friend."

Liam had just given up on arguing with Theo at all. He let him ramble on about everything that came to mind. Anything from biology and chemistry, all the way to why he ate a squirrel when he was in a full shift once. Needless to say, Liam did not get bored at all during Theo's rants. Just before Liam could get bored or confused, Theo would change subjects on a whim.

Then Theo went and brought up the subject of his sexuality. It was something he couldn't explain. Like he was just frustrated that there were all these labels for peoples' sexual orientations and all they ever did was confuse him. Liam had to tell Theo that labels didn't matter; love is love. Theo smiled and told Liam he loved him for probably the eighth time in twenty minutes.

Then he changed subjects again. "Remember yesterday when we talked about having kids?"

Liam let out an exasperated sigh. "We actually didn't talk about it, Theo."

"Right," Theo said dismissively and moving on. "Anyways. I never thought about having kids because it's like... weird. And only adults do that. But then I realized that I'm an adult..."

For the first time in twenty minutes, Theo was silent. Liam chuckled as they made it back to Theo's truck. "Well, do you want to have kids?"

Theo dug in his pockets with shaky hands looking for his keys. "I don't know. I think kids are cute. Especially, kids like Allie."

Liam took Theo's keys from him. "I'm driving. Thank you very much."

Theo didn't argue luckily. He just climbed in the passenger seat and smiled at Liam. "Do you want to have kids?"

Liam shrugged. "I don't think that now is really the time for kids. I mean..." Liam started the truck and looked at Theo. "We just got a cat. I think that's the first step. And then we'll get a house of our own. And a puppy.-"

"Oh! I'm so excited!" Theo said laughing with joy. "I can't wait." It was weird seeing him in this energetic, euphoric state. Usually, Theo was so calm and collected. He was learning to be more forward about how he felt about things but he didn't always express it so wildly.

* * *

"Theo, I would love to stay up all night with you but I have a test in the morning and I'm pretty stressed out about it," Liam told Theo as they walked into their room. Liam put the truck keys on the nightstand and kicked off his shoes. Theo started changing out of his clothes while Liam sighed and watched him with crossed arms. "What am I going to do with you?"

Theo was just in his boxers now. He faced Liam and shrugged. "I can just go for a walk-"

"You're not going out there by yourself in this state," Liam said plainly. "I will think of something..." Liam chewed on his lip as he thought. Theo occupied himself by fidgeting with a belt he'd found on the floor, whipping it back and forth. His eyes were still glowing and his fangs were showing. At least his claws hadn't- Damn it. His claws came out now too. Theo was definitely not allowed to have that much caffeine ever again.

Liam looked around his room for ideas. There! His xbox. "Alright," said Liam walking towards his tv and Theo. "Here's whats going to happen. I'm going to sleep in the guest room and you're going to stay in here. You can stay up playing video games until the caffeine wears off. Once that happens, you can go to sleep."

Theo stared at Liam blankly. "But I haven't slept without you since... since... like a long time."

"I have a test tomorrow, Theo," Liam whined. "And if I don't pass it, I won't graduate. I can't lose any sleep over this."

Theo sighed. "OK. Fine." He kissed him on the forehead. "I won't bug you. Go get some sleep. I'll find things to occupy myself."

"Are you sure?" Liam asked voice full of concern.

"Yes," said Theo. "I can handle it."

Liam thanked him graciously and went and got him some water. "Drink this. It'll help flush the caffeine out of your system. If something starts happening, like you have a heart attack, wake somebody up. I'm gonna tell my parents just so they know what's going on. But don't bug them unless it's an emergency."

Theo nodded like he was listening very carefully. Liam said goodnight to him and somehow managed to get to sleep. But Theo was a totally night owl. But different because he didn't more than just sit there awake. He did play video games for a few hours. After a while that got boring so he started messing around with things in Liam's room.

He found a dry erase marker and drew things on the windows. He's such a nerd because he started out by drawing punnet squares and then he drew a bunch of chemical compound structures. After that, he got really imaginative and drew a big scene on the window of trees and deer and a sunset.

He got bored with drawing and found himself searching threw Liam's closet, laughing at some of the ridiculous things he found. There were some clothes from when he must've been in grade school. And then there was duct tape. Theo had nothing better to do so he duct taped his hands together and then he remembered he needed to drink some water. Trying to drink the water with his hands duct taped together ended up being a failure. Water spilled all over the bed.

So that's how he ended up downstairs in the kitchen. He did manage to drink some water, thank goodness. But the ice cream in the freezer was calling out to him. He couldn't just let it sit there and not be eaten. So he might have had a night time snack. He wasn't really supposed to do that. But his dietitian had tried to make him go vegan that day. How is someone who is literally part wolf and coyote supposed to go vegan? Is that even a thing? It made Theo very upset.

Theo was sitting on the kitchen counter kicking his feet back and forth while eating out of the ice cream container when he noticed a presence. He looked to the right and there was Jenna. He froze and looked down at his ice cream. He tried to talk but there was a spoon in his mouth. He quickly removed it. "This is not something I do regularly in case you were wondering."

Jenna chuckled. "Liam told me." She walked over to the counter and hopped up next to Theo. She pulled a spoon out of the dish rack and showed it to Theo. "Mind if I join?"

Theo smiled and shared the ice cream container he'd confiscated from the freezer with her. "I came down here to get some water..."

"But you found the ice cream instead, huh?"

Theo nodded. "I drank some water first though." They were silent for a moment, enjoying their ice cream. "I know it's not really acceptable since I'm in recovery for an eating disorder but... I don't know. I just felt like ice cream would be nice and... I was kinda hungry."

"You don't feel ashamed about it, do you?"

Theo shrugged again before he nodded. "Yeah. Kind of."

"Well, it's not like you do this all the time," Jenna said putting a hand on his back and giving it a rub. "And you say you were hungry. If you're hungry, you need to eat. There's no shame in that, is there? Besides, staying up this late is going to burn some calories that you need to replace."

Theo scraped some ice cream on to his spoon. "...I guess you're right. I... didn't think about the calories I was burning staying up all night."

Jenna smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek that made him smile really big. "It's past three, Theo. You should probably try and sleep soon."

Theo stared at her confused. How was it only three? This was taking forever. There was no way he'd be able to sleep. But after he had his share of ice cream and refilled his glass of water, he returned to his and Liam's room. He'd have to find ways to occupy himself for a few more hours.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo sleep talks towards the end of this and it's hilarious.

The next morning, Liam got up and went back to his room expecting to find Theo sound asleep and nearly dead from a caffeine hangover. But he did not. He opened the door and found Theo sitting in front of his Xbox, remote in his hands playing some video game. Liam's jaw dropped in horror. "Have you been playing that all night?"

Theo turned his attention from the screen to Liam. He smiled and sat up. "Hi, Liam."

Liam grunted at he snatched the remote from Theo and turned the system off. "Did you seriously not get any sleep last night?"

Theo stood up and planted himself right in front of Liam. "Sleep is for the weak."

Liam rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable. You are gonna be so tired when I pick you up from the clinic, it's not even gonna be funny."

* * *

"I'm so tired!" Theo whined as Liam practically carried him out to the car. He was nearly in tears. Liam helped him into the passenger seat while Theo whined and complained some more about how tired he was.

"You can sleep when we get home, Theo," said Liam. "Just wait until I get you into the bed because if you fall asleep right there, I am not carrying you. You will just stay there until you can wake up and walk yourself up the stairs."

Theo massaged the temples of his head and moaned. "Do you know how many times I had to pee today?"

"That's not really a very import-"

"Ten times," Theo groaned.

"OK." Liam said as he started the drive home. Theo would start to fall asleep so Liam had to entertain him and keep him awake. "Hey, so what did you do today?"

"Besides pee?" Theo sassed. "I don't remember. I think I got in a fight with my dietitian again."

Liam sighed. "What is it with you and this dietitian?"

"She a fuckin' bitch," Theo hissed. He was leaning back into the seat, eyes closed. "You know what she tried to get me to do? She tried to get me to go vegan. She was all 'sometimes eliminating animal products can make people with eating disorders feel better about what they eat.' I don't know what she's talking about. I feel great about what I eat. I mean, I don't have fangs for no reason. I need meat!"

"...sounds kinda like you're overreacting."

Theo let out an obnoxious scoff. "I'm the one overreacting? That means a lot coming from you."

"Theo-"

"I'm not overreacting. I'm literally half dog!-"

"She doesn't know that, Theo," said Liam firmly. "I know what you mean, Theo. I do. But she doesn't know that you're part werewolf and werecoyote."

"...I still don't like her."

"Why?"

"Because..." Theo said. He was definitely supposed to elaborate on that but he didn't. Because he was dozong off.

"Theo!"

Theo startled and sat up, opening his eyes. "So how was your test? Did it go OK?"

Liam smiled. Well, at least Theo remembered something. "I think it went pretty good."

"Hm. That's nice..." Then Theo was dosing off again. Liam grunted in frustration and slammed his fist on the horn startling Theo back to reality again. Theo glanced all around the car in horror for a moment before he smacked Liam on the arm. "You scared me."

* * *

Liam had somehow managed to get Theo up the stairs and into bed. He didn't want to go through the hassle of changing his clothes so he just let him sleep in what he was wearing. Usually, when Theo got home he would spend an hour with S'mores but since he was asleep it was Liam's job. She'd started eating solid food already so he didn't have to worry about mixing the formula wrong.

Liam had never really been a huge fan of cats. He'd always been more of a dog person. And now he was literally a dog-person. The irony. But now with Theo around and S'mores, he liked having a kitty. Someday They would get a puppy though. That was for sure.

"Where's Theo?" Liam mom asked wandering into the kitchen where Liam was feeding the kitten.

He looked up and smiled at her. "Oh. He's asleep."

"That's a relief," she said greeting her son with a hug and kiss. "Is everything gonna be alright?"

Liam shrugged. "I think so. I mean, I'll wake him up to eat something in a little bit. But he just needs to sleep it off." Jenna smiled at him knowingly. It made Liam uncomfortable. "What?"

"Nothing," she said. "I just think you're a really good boyfriend."

Liam blushed knowing exactly what she was thinking. She was thinking that this was it, the one. He was going to marry Theo and spend the rest of his life with him. She was probably right but he was kinda scared to think about that right now. If only she'd known they were already talking about having kids. She would have a fit. "I really do love him, mom," is all Liam could think to say.

"I know you do, sweetie," she said putting a hand on his cheek and caressing it with her thumb. "It's sad to see both of you growing up so fast."

Liam smiled at her sadly. He didn't really want to grow up. He loved being with his parents. It made him feel safe and secure. But so did being with Theo. That was probably a sign, a huge sign.

"So how had college searching been going, baby?" she asked him as she pulled some meat out of the refrigerator.

Liam cringed. "I don't know. I... want to go to college but I just... don't even know what I want to do. All I really care about right now is Theo."

She set some meat on the counter and started pulling out spices from the cupboard. "I think it's great that you're really focused on Theo right now, honey, but you can't forget about yourself. You still need to think about your future."

"But, mom, I can't just leave him while I go to college," Liam argued. "We both need each other right now. I... I don't know what to do..."

She sighed and faced him, leaning against the counter. "Why don't you guys talk about going to Hill Valley College? It's close to home and you could both earn your associate's degree. It'll give you boys time to think about what you want to do."

"But what about paying for college? Theo literally has nothing-"

"He was in the foster system, Liam," said reminded Liam. "He'll get lots of grants from the state and the federal government. And whatever isn't covered, your father and I will take care of just like we will with you."

Liam looked at her with sincere admiration. "You'd really do that?"

She smiled. "Of course, honey. We care about your future more than you could ever imagine. I've been saving up a lot of money for you to go to some big fancy college. But if you got to Hill Valley, then it cuts expenses by a lot. There'd be enough to pay for Theo if he needs the help."

Liam smiled, a little bit of hope rising in his chest. "That's really nice of you."

Jenna squeezed Liam's shoulder. "You think about finding a place of your own?"

Liam scoffed. "What? You want us out that bad?"

"No," Jenna said defensively. "I love having you boys home more than you could imagine but as scared as I am of you growing up, I can't wait to see where it takes you. Moving out is all part of growing up. It's up to you guys. If you want to stay home for a few more years, that's fine. If you want to get your own place, that's OK too."

"I mean... Hill Valley is a bit of a drive..." Liam said scratching his chin in thought. He had been thinking about moving out eventually. He wasn't sure really. There was always so much pressure to move out and get a job and go to college. But things were hard. No entry level job could pay rent while he attended college and still had time set aside to study. Realistically, he couldn't be an actual adult until he graduated college and had a real job. The thought was very disappointing.

"Talk to Theo about, sweetie," Jenna said grabbing a knife and cutting the meat out of the plastic. "Could you grab me the crock pot off that shelf?" Liam stood on his tippy toes to try and reach the crock pot but he slumped his shoulders in defeat. He pouted. "Aw. You still can't reach the top shelf?"

Liam sighed in frustration. "I guess I'm just gonna be short forever." Jenna laughed. "And it's your fault. You gave me your short genes." That made Jenna laugh even harder.

* * *

At dinner time, Liam went up stairs to get Theo. When he walked in, he heard Theo mumbling. He was probably going on about something really cute like he had the other day. Liam would love to sit and listen to him but Theo needed to eat. He carefully sat next to Theo's legs and put his hand on his arm. "Theo..." He shook him gently. "Theo you need to wake up."

Liam heard Theo take in a deep breath. That meant he was waking up. "You hungry?"

"...................mhm."

"Come on. My mom made dinner," he said grabbing both of Theo's hands and pulling him up into a sitting position. "You'll be extra happy because it's pot roast. No vegan meals for you, Boo."

".....Boo?"

"I don't know," Liam shrugged. "It rhymed and sounded really cute in my head."

Theo shook his head tiredly. "Don't say that again." Liam chuckled at Theo before he lead him down the stairs. It was kinda cute how groggy and tired he looked. But it was also kinda sad because Liam would love to do something with him after dinner. Theo needed to sleep more than he needed to entertain his boyfriend though. Liam would have plenty of other times to do things with Theo.

Theo tiredly ate his dinner, drinking lots of water while he did so. At first, Jenna and David tried to ask him questions about his day but, once they figured out his brain wasn't working at full capacity and he didn't really want to talk, they directed their attention to Liam.

"So, Liam," David started but as soon as he got the words out, the doorbell rang. Everyone looked amongst each other. "I didn't know we were expecting company."

Liam just shrugged as Jenna got up from her chair. "As long as it's not the Mormons or the Jahova's Witnesses again." There were two hums of agreement as she went to open the door. "Oh. Liam, it's for you." She opened the door and there was Scott.

Liam stood up from the table to go greet his Alpha. "Hey," Scott said nervously. "I'm sorry I didn't call you or something. But I was in the neighborhood."

Liam smiled and hugged Scott. "It's no problem. We were just finishing up dinner. If you were a Mormon Missionary or a Jehovah's Witness, we probably wouldn't be as welcoming. You can come in."

"Actually, I just wanted to invite you and Theo to a party type... thing. It's partly because you guys are graduating and also partly because the rest of us are gonna be going back to college soon. But it's mostly because we just want an excuse to get together."

Liam chuckled. "Yeah. That's sounds great. When is it?"

"Uh. So far everyone is available next Thursday evening. Does that work for you?"

"It should," said Liam. "I mean, I have lacrosse practice but I can come afterward."

Scott smiled really big. "Great. Um... do you think Theo will come?"

Liam turned around to see that Theo had fallen asleep in his chair. "Theo!" Liam snapped making Theo startle awake. "You busy next Thursday?"

Theo stared at Liam in the distance. "....no." He didn't really think about it. It's not like he had much of a life outside of the Clinic, Liam, and S'mores. Theo's eyes brightened up when he saw Scott standing in the doorway. He smiled. "Hi, Scott."

Was it weird that he was actually happy to see him? Maybe after how things had gone with Stiles the night before, he felt a little better about being around the pack. "Hey, Theo," said Scott waving as Theo stood up and made his way towards the door. "I was just telling Liam that-" Scott suddenly went quiet when Theo wrapped his arms around Scott in a hug. Scott looked at Liam in confusion but Liam just shrugged. Scott hugged Theo back. "-That we're having a thing next Thursday."

Theo pulled away, still looking exhausted but at least now he looked like he was making an effort. "A thing? What kind of thing?"

"A party kinda thing," said Liam. "The pack's gonna be there. You wanna come?"

Theo pursed his lips in thought. "Will you be there?"

"Yes," said Liam raising his eyebrows.

"Then OK."

"Yeah?" asked Scott. 

Theo shrugged. "I'll be there."

"Are you sure?" asked Scott. "I mean, we all really want you there because we support you but if you're afraid that-"

"Scott, I'm not afraid of you," Theo said bluntly.

"I'm not sure if that should make me feel relieved or concerned..."

Theo bobbed his head and put an arm around Liam's shoulder, pulling his boyfriend close. "Probably a little bit of both." From the way that Scott's face went a little pale, he'd probably forgotten momentarily that Theo and Liam were dating not. Theo winked at him. "Don't you think, Scott?"

Scott and Theo had a stare down that made Liam very uncomfortable. Theo thought it was funny though. Especially, when Liam elbowed him in the stomach to get them to stop. With the little bit of fluff that had been growing on his front side, he'd become more ticklish. Scott stared at them in silence for a moment. "....So I heard you got a kitten?"

Theo's face beamed with excitement. Of course, he had to show Scott his kitten. And Liam had to point out that he had named her. After an hour or two of visiting with Scott, Liam and Theo sat on the couch watching whatever was on TV and playing with S'mores. "You know, Theo... you constantly impress me with how big of steps you're taking in your recovery."

Theo smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "I guess I still feel a lot of the same things as I used to... I can still feel the doubt and even the shame when I'm around them. But I just have to tell myself that I'm better than those feelings, that I'm worth more than that and that everyone else is worth more than that too." When Theo looked up he found Liam staring at him lovingly. "What?"

Liam shrugged. "Nothing. You're just a really good boyfriend."

"Well, I couldn't be a really good boyfriend without you."

That definitely called for a kiss. And that's how David walked in on Theo and Liam making out on the couch. It was kinda surprised it hadn't happened before but this being the first time didn't make it any better. David cleared his throat. Theo and Liam backed out of each other's mouths and looked at David embarrassed and apologized. David told the boys he and Jenna were going out for ice cream and walk and invited them but Liam insisted that Theo needed to go back to bed.

Theo didn't argue. He was exhausted and, frankly surprised he'd actually stayed up and talked with Scott for so long.

This time, Theo managed to change his clothes. He put on a t-shirt and sweatpants. He even went in the bathroom and brushed his teeth. Liam laughed when he saw that Theo had fallen asleep with the headband that he used to keep his hair out of his face while he washed it on. He looked kinda silly but in the best way possible.

He also looked beautiful. Like so beautiful. And it was unfair because Theo didn't even know how beautiful he was. Well... at least to some degree. Because he was pretty cocky and confident in his body. And Liam was teaching him to love it even more than he already did. Theo knew for sure that Liam was into his newly acquired love handles but what he didn't know was that Liam would probably always be into every part of him no matter what his body was like.

It was an unconditional love that he knew went both ways.

Liam stayed up for a little while longer texting Mason and planning their next double date. This time they were planning on taking Nolan even if he couldn't find someone to bring. Mason would find someone to set him up with though.

He didn't have any homework to do because it was the end of the school year and he'd pretty much finished most of his finals. So had Theo. Apparently, he didn't even have to go to school to take them. He could do it right at the clinic. Liam looked at the calendar by his desk to check what day it was and... "Oh my god." Liam put his hand in his hair and pulled at it anxiously. He just realized he was going to graduate in a week. How did that happen? How did that fuckin' happen? Graduation was next Wednesday. And Theo was graduating too. Holy crap. That was happening. All he had left was two more finals next Monday and then some end of the school year pep assemblies. And then he was graduating.

How was he supposed to sleep now? He literally just realized that graduation was one week away. Like he kinda knew that's when it was but with everything that has been going on he forgot about it. He was going to graduate high school and then turn eighteen three days later. Now that was terrifying.

Liam climbed into bed after he panicked a little bit and found himself relaxing once he was next to Theo. So maybe all this change wasn't as scary as he thought. He did have Theo after all. And he'd probably always have Theo. He started to fall asleep, dreaming about his future with Theo when he startled awake because he heard a moan come from Theo. Liam sat up. "Theo, you alright?"

"...it's so slick," Theo mumbled.

Liam rolled over and turned on the bedside lamp to get a good look at his boyfriend. He wasn't jerking off in his sleep like he'd momentarily thought he was. But he was definitely asleep. And apparenly, sleep talking. "What's slick?"

Theo chuckled drunkenly. "You are."

"Why?"

"Shshshsh," Theo said, an arm coming up to Liam's lips and brushing over them gently. "La 'H' es muda."

Liam couldn't help the laughter that started to escaped his mouth. Since when did Theo speak Spanish. "Why are you speaking Spanish?"

"No habla Ingles," Theo whispered loudly. "No mas tortas. Estoy lleno..."

"Theo..." Liam shook his head. He honestly wished he knew what he was saying. He got an idea and pulled out his phone and decided to record what Theo was saying and ask him later. "What was that, Theo?"

"No mas tortas," he said sounding sort of angry. "Estoy lleno de papi."

"What does that mean?"

Theo giggled and took a deep breath. "Gross."

"What?"

"Do you taste that?"

"Taste what?"

Theo giggle again. "Well, not that. I don't even know you."

"Theo, it's me Liam."

"Who?"

"Your boyfriend."

Theo gasped. "Oh." Theo scooted closer to Liam, really close. "Are you ready then?"

"Ready for what?" Liam whispered.

Theo literally rubbed his hand against Liam's groin making Liam gasp in surprise. Then he pulled it away. "I'm just playing with you, baby."

"Don't do that," Liam hissed in annoyance because now he was suddenly very horny. At least, he was recording this to show Theo in the morning.

"That's slick though," Theo said slurring his speech. "Slicker than your dick."

"Oh my..." Liam had to keep himself from reacting to that. "What's slick?"

"What do you think I'm talking about? Gosh. You're such an idiot," Theo snapped. "Why am I even dating you? You're so stupid. Can I murder you?"

"Theo, that's not nice-"

"I know. I'm sorry. I love you..." Theo appeared to doze off for a minute there. Then he was all chatty again. "But, Liam, it's so slick."

"What's slick?"

Theo sighed and booped Liam's nose. Or at least he tried to but since his eyes were closed he couldn't find it. "You know what I'm talking about. It's fuckin' slick."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Theo," Liam insisted.

"Lléname, Papi," Theo whined caressing Liam's ass. He was definitely trying to say something dirty in Spanish. It might not be an actual saying in Spanish but it definitely would translate to something dirty with the way Theo was saying it. And Liam knew for a fact that Papi meant daddy. Theo was calling him daddy. That was some pretty kinky shit.

"Tell me. What's slick?" Liam tried really hard to keep the laughter out of his voice but this was just too good.

"What rhymes with slick?" Theo said in an almost sing-song tone. "Your..."

"Dick?"

"Mmmm. Yes," said Theo. "So slick."

Liam should probably change the subject before Theo got carried away. Which is was sort of guaranteed that he would because of how horny he always was. "Where did you learn Spanish?"

"Uh... in Mexican class. Obviously." Theo spit the words out sassily but also somewhat slurred. "Mr. Sanchez was my sexual awakening."

Liam tried to remember the teacher. Mr. Sanchez was not hot in any way. There was no way Mr. Sanchez could have been Theo's 'sexual awakening.' "Really now?"

"Yeah... I realized that I did not want to have sex with his daughter like everyone else in the entire school did. Except for Mason because he's gay as fuck, that little bastard." Theo let out a short laugh.

Now that made more sense. Mr. Sanchez's daughter was definitely something everyone wanted to hit. Liam had honestly been into her for a while but then he started to realize that dudes were kinda hot and once that happened there was no turning back. All he really wanted to hit now was Theo. But maybe later.

"And then The Dietitian wanted me to go vegan. That bitch."

It always came back to the dietitian. "Oh. No. Not The Dietitian."

"I wonder if she's related to The Geneticist. Or The Pathologist. Or The Fuckin' Surgeon." 

"I doubt it."

"Those bitches all did me wrong. I hate them. I mean, what even is vegan? All I know is I don't want to eat aliens. Like that's just a wrong sin that no one should partake in."

Liam let out a long sigh. "For sure." This was going to be a long night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing against vegans by the way. Theo just doesn't understand it cause he's part wolf/coyote and can't imagine not having it.
> 
> Vegans are valid.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: fluff
> 
> Also, I was kinda too tired to read over it and check for errors so you'll have to just deal with it. Sorry.

"So... it turns out I was kind of overreacting," Theo told Diana. "I mean... she wasn't trying to force me to go vegan. She was just... suggesting it. I... I know that know."

"Uh huh," Diana said nodding her head. "And have you talking to her recently?'

"Um... no," said Theo. "But I told you last Wednesday that I talked to Scott. And I went on that date with Stiles. I mean, that's progress right there."

Diana gave Theo a look. It was a 'mom' look. "It sounds like you're just making excuses."

Theo shrugged guiltily. "I don't know. I guess I just don't like her because... I mean, it's nothing personal.-"

"You just feel like you're being controlled," Diana finished for him.

"Exactly!" Theo said like he'd just had an epiphany.

"So now you've started noticing some eating habits that you're afraid might be out of spite for you Dietitian cause you want to be in control?"

"Yes," said Theo.

"Care to share?"

"Well..." Theo sputtered. "I've kinda started... to eat at night time when I should be sleeping."

"Really?" Diana asked.

"Yeah. It started after that incident with the caffeine. Like I was up all night so I got hungry and-"

"Ice cream?"

"Yeah," said Theo. "And then the night after that, when I was sleep talking, while I was still asleep, Liam followed me to the kitchen where I just started eating again."

"Has it happened more?" Diana asked. "Cause it could just be something related to your sleeping schedule. You only sleep talk when you're sleep deprived or stressed out so maybe this is another side effect of that."

Theo shrugged. "Maybe. I'm just afraid that it'll become a regular thing and I'll do it all the time."

"Well, neither of them are nessacarrily a pattern, Theo," she pointed out. "Once, you were awake and hungry and you did it deliberately. The second time you were unconscious and sleep deprived."

"...right."

"I'll bring this up with the Dietitian and the Sleep specialist. We'll see what we can do," Diana said smiling. "But for now don't let it worry you. You're going through something really big right now. Weird things are going to happen. Maybe they'll be a one-time thing, maybe temporary or permanent. But the worst thing you can do it stress over it. Especially since stress is something that tends to trigger you."

Theo took a deep breath. Of course, Diana was right. She's always right. But telling some with anxiety not to stress about something is like telling Liam not to get angry. You could say it but it was ineffective. "Yeah."

"Have you talked with Liam about it?"

Theo nodded. "Yeah. He's kinda worried too. But he's..."

Diana noticed the shy smile on his face. "Supportive? Like he always is?"

"Yeah," said Theo. "I... I know for a fact that I wouldn't be where I am if it weren't for him."

"Why don't you tell me about you and Liam?" Diana prodded a little bit. "I'm curious. I want updates. How is he?"

"Uh, he's great. He's kinda freaking out right now because we're graduating in two days and he still is entirely sure what he wants to do for college..." Theo bit his lip and shook his head thinking about a talk he'd had with Liam. "He talked to me about going to Hill Valley with him... I... I know some people want me to take a gap year but... I can't bare the thought of sitting around and doing nothing."

"Does Hill Valley sound like someting you want to try out?"

Theo twiddled his thumbs. "Yeah. I think so. Liam... talked about renting an apartment together and..." Just the thought of it made Theo's heart race a little. He wanted to be with Liam like this forever. The idea of living in an apartment together was just... it made him feel so many exciting things.

"Do you feel like you're ready for that?"

Theo shrugged. "I definitely want it," Theo said dreamily. It was so natural to just express his emotions freely in front of this woman. She was literally the best therapist he could ask for. "I know it's a really big deal for most relationships but... I mean, we already share a room. We know how to deal with conflict. The fact that we both have a disorder is both a strength and a weakness in our relationship. Cause sometimes we're both a little off, you know? Like he gets angry and I get sensitive. But the moment one of us realizes the other is about to..."

"Have an episode?" Diana offered.

"Yeah," said Theo. "The moment that happens, we're there to just cater for each other. And Liam has been there for me so much the last few weeks. I don't even know how it all happened so fast..."

"Do you think it was too fast?"

Theo shook his head. "I don't feel like it was too fast. We've been really cautious, careful. Taking it slow."

"So does that mean you aren't sure about moving in with him?"

"I'm sure," Theo assured her. "I'm just not sure if I'm supposed to be sure or not."

"Don't think about anyone else right now, Theo," Diana told him. "Just think about you and Liam. The world doesn't have to be ready. It's up to you to decide."

Theo just nodded. He still didn't know. He wanted it. He really wanted it then. But what would he want later? He was sure if this was an OK discision for him to make at this point in his life. He wasn't completely stable yet. Would ever be completely stable? Was that even a thing?

"Also..." Diana said. "Maybe you're looking at this the wrong way. Maybe you need to think of it as less of a step in yours and Liam's intimate relationship and more of a step towards your independence. Sure, you and Liam are in an intimate relationship but he's still your friend and if you took this step, he would be your roommate."

Theo thought about that. It was true. When Liam talked about them getting an apartment together, he immediately imagined some married couple scoping out an apartment and daydreaming about where everything would be set in place. But Diana's point was more realistic, two college guys who were roommates looking for a reasonable place to stay while they got a decent education.

"You should probably talk to Liam about it some more," said Diana. "And think about it from different perspectives. Get back to me on that one for sure."

Theo nodded in affirmation. He would definitely be thinking about that one. Thinking of it in Diana's point of view made it a little easier for him to decide.

* * *

This time, Theo took Liam on a date. It was to celebrate that they were graduating in two days and that they were both completely done with school. At least until they went to college. They both agreed that no caffeine would be consumed and Mcdonald's was completely out of the question. "I want you to decide where we're going," said Theo. "Any place you want."

Theo was sitting the driver's seat of his truck, honestly, ready for anything. He was up for fast food. He was up for fancy stuff. He was up for a movie, a walk. Mostly, he just wanted to see Liam happy. He could tell there was something Liam was a little excited about, other than the fact that they were going on a date. But Theo knew what that was like too. He had something he wanted to show Liam. His birthday was on Friday and it was kinda something that he wanted to make sure Liam was OK with before then.

But whatever Liam was nervous about, Theo had no clue. It didn't seem like a bad nervous though.

"How about we pick up some sandwiches somewhere and go for a walk in the park?" Liam suggested.

"Is that what you want to do?"

"I would love to go on a walk in the park as long as you're there with me," Liam said as they drove towards the end of the road where they would have to make the decision.

"And so would I," said Theo coming to a stop at the end of the road. Liam took that as an opportunity to lace their fingers together and hold his hand. Liam found it kinda silly how neither of them felt the need to dress up very fancy. He wasn't sure if they weren't really into dressing up or if they were still learning to be gay. Because all the other gay dudes they knew were into dressing up. Theo was definitely the more fashionable of the two. Or at least he was until he started wearing Liam's clothes all the time. "Where am I buying the sandwiches?"

"Uh... subway?"

They continued to have a casual conversation, asking and telling. They only bickered once and they were both smiling the whole time so it was hardly bickering. After they got their sandwiches, They went to a near by park that was next to a river and had a few trailheads. It was probably the perfect place for a date. By the looks of it, no one else was even there.

They sat at a picnic table eating their sandwiches both knowing the other had something they wanted to bring up but neither of them were brave enough to go first. Liam couldn't handle the way Theo kept looking at him though. Theo was trying very hard not to smile about something and he was failing miserably. Every time he took a bite, he had the hardest time keeping the food in his mouth because of how bad he needed to smile.

"OK," Liam finally spoke up. "What is your deal? Why do you keep smiling?" Theo sighed while he finished up chewing. He took out a folded up piece of paper and placed it on the table. Liam took the peice of paper and examined it. It looked like it had been in his pocket for a while, wrinkled and worn. But what was on it was something Liam hadn't seen before. "What's this?"

The paper said 'Survivor' on it, written in pen very artistically. In place of the 's' was that symbol. The one Theo had grown attached too. And, frankly, so had Liam. It meant just as much to Liam as it did to Theo. At least, Liam thought so.

"I designed our tattoos," said Theo placing his elbows on the table after scooting his sandwich aside so he could reach across the table to show Liam. "This one is mine. Now yours... I wanted it to mean something so... I guess I came up with something." He was covering Liam's hand with his own so that Liam couldn't unfold the paper quite yet.

Liam smiled up at Theo. "What?"

"So mine says survivor, not just because of my eating disorder but because of all the other stuff too. My sister, the Dread Doctors, the Skinwalkers, everything," Theo explained to Liam. "I was only able to survive on my own for so long until I became too weak. And that's where you come in. You took a chance on me when no one else would. You gave me a place to stay. You gave me a family. You cared about me. And the word that's on this paper is something that I can't survive without. It's the thing that you gave me and..."

Theo scoffed and shook his head at how sappy he was being. He had to look away for a second because he was being pretty emotional and there might be tears in his eyes. He swallowed and looked back at Liam who was pretty dumbstruck and... nervous. He was nervous. Theo pulled his hands back so that Liam could unfold the paper and read it."...I hope it's something that's you'll give to me for a really long time because it's the reason I'm alive."

Liam gingerly unfolded the paper, reading the word 'Love' in the same artistic font that Theo's had been written in. Liam felt his heart skip a beat and the butterflies in his stomach flutter. He totally knew it was gonna say that but he just couldn't not react to it. Liam got up from his side of the table and walked around it. He sat, straddling the board of the picnic table like Theo was.

"Theo..." Liam said, excitement and admiration evident in his voice. "I'm always gonna love you."

Theo smiled through the tears and sniffled. "I'm always gonna love you too."

Liam smiled really big before he leaned in and wrapped his arms around Theo, the older boy returning the embrace. Liam found it so sweet that Theo had done this, that he'd taken the time to create something for them to share, that he'd given it meaning. Liam knew he'd never be good at things like that. He was little surprised that Theo had done it. But mostly so happy for him, for both of them.

Liam pressed a kissed to Theo's lips when he pulled back. "Now my present is gonna seem kinda silly."

Theo was still processing the emotion he'd been feeling initially when this all started so he asked Liam very innocently and surprised even,"You got me a present?"

Liam shrugged and nodded. "Yeah. But... I didn't go and right a speech for it or anything."

Theo laughed through his tears again. "Sorry. I didn't mean to have a speech."

"You came up with that on the spot?" Liam asked impressed. The shock and joyfulness was simmering down into much needed humor. Theo nodded and Liam patted his shoulder. "You have a lot of talents."

"Thank you," is all Theo could think to say. It was honestly a weird thing for Liam to say but... it was Liam so...

Liam cleared his throat and placed his hands on Theo's thighs. There was nothing suggestive about the touch. All it showed was that they were getting comfortable with each other and that Liam really loved Theo's thighs. "I noticed the other day you were looking at Lydia's necklace. So I bought something on a whim not even knowing if you were into wearing necklaces..." Liam took in a breath like he was about to say something else but then he didn't. Instead, he pulled something out of his pocket and held it in a fist between him and Theo. "I hope you like it."

Theo's eyes were a greyish color. Liam had learned that meant, he was in his most human state. It meant, he wasn't gonna snap at someone, he was gonna sass anyone, he wasn't gonna be animal like in anyways. Not that Liam had a problem with Theo's animal side. It was just nice to see the human side of Theo not be terrified. It was actually really beautiful.

When Theo held his hands out, Liam dropped the silver chain into them. Theo flattened out the round peice of silver and smiled. "Fuck ED." The 'u' was replaced by the eating disorder recover symbol. He chuckled and squeezed it in his palm. "I love it, Liam."

"Really?" Liam asked sincerely. He was bouncing his knee up and down anxiously.

Theo put a hand on Liam's knee signaling the other boy to stop. "Liam, you don't know how much this means to me. I... I can't remember the last time I was given a present."

Liam so the sad look on Theo's face as he stared down at the necklace. He hadn't really thought about that. It's not like the Dread Doctors would have gotten him birthday or christmas presents. At least, not pleasant ones. And from the very little Liam has heard about his upbringing before the Dread Doctors came into the picture, it didn't sound like Theo got very much of anything let alone presents.

Liam scooted towards Theo, pulling him a little closer by the back of his neck and shoulder. "You can expect a lot more where that came from, Theo." Liam kissed Theo on the lips. "But do you even wear necklaces?"

Theo smiled at Liam, eyes speaking for Theo about how much he admired Liam. "I'll wear anything that reminds me of you, Liam."

Liam smiled and bobbed his head ina somewhat of a relief. "So... uh... is that why you always wear my clothes?"

"Well, that and I just don't have as many clothes as you do," said Theo, a bit of playfulness in his voice. "I think you have too many close personally."

"Really?-"

"I think you should have no clothes," said Theo bluntly. "At all."

"...but I can't just walk around naked-"

"Yes, you can."

And they did that for the rest of the evening. They played. They teased each other. They loved each other in their own weird way. They complained to each other about what was going on in their lives, tried offering solutions to each other's problems. Liam convinced Theo to give him a piggyback ride around the park. Theo got tired and dropped him.

* * *

Theo and Liam got home just after it got dark. Liam was the first one in the bedroom and decided to be dramatic about his tendency to hog the blankets. He flopped onto the bed and literally rolled himself up in the blankets on the bed so he was in a ridiculous looking cacoon that made Theo giggle. He hopped on the bed and on top of Liam making the other gasp dramatically for air.

Theo laughed as he wrapped his arms around Liam. His face was barely sticking out of the blankets. "You know what you remind me of?"

"A baby?"

"I was gonna say a burrito."

"Of course, you were," Liam said rolling his eyes. "You and you're burritos."

Theo snuggled up to Liam and squished him. "My burrito baby." Theo pecked Liam on the lips playfully. "I love my burrito baby." He kissed him again, a little longer this time. "Sexiest burrito in the whole damn town." That one earned an upheaval of laughter from both of them.

"Theo, stop it," Liam pleaded. But he wasn't very convincing because of the way he was smiling. "I can't breathe."

"You don't need to breathe," Theo said placing another kiss on his forehead. "Cause I'm just gonna eat you up."

"I'm not kissing you back until you help me unwrap myself."

"That's OK," said Theo. "I don't get to kiss sexy burritos very often. I'm going to enjoy it."

"Well, don't enjoy it too much, alright," Liam warned him. "We don't need to get ahead of ourselves."

Theo sighed and got off of Liam. "Fine." He grabbed the lip of the blanket and pulled on it as hard as he could sending Liam flying off the bed and landing on the floor. The smiled, satisfied. A moment later, Liam's head popped up glaring at him. Theo shrugged. "Come on, man. How much longer are we gonna 'not get ahead of ourselves?' A guy can only take so much."

Liam huffed and climbed on the bed pulling his legs close so he could sit crisscross. "Theo-"

"I know. I know," Theo said like he'd sort regretted complaining about it and wanted to take it back. But before he could confirm that's what was going to happen, Liam pinned him into the mattress with a kiss, a very deep, suggestive, violent kiss. Liam pulled back and Theo was in complete shock.

Liam had been afraid this would happen. This was why he didn't want to have sex too early in their relationship. He was afraid it would... do something to Theo. And Liam literally just kissed him and he wasn't moving. "Theo?"

Theo's eyes met Liam's and he let out a pent-up breath. "Wow. That was slick."

Liam smiled at Theo's word choice. Ever since Liam showed him the recording of him sleep talking, Theo couldn't stop using that word 'slick' whenever he could just to make Liam laugh. Theo could be a funny guy sometimes. "Theo, I think we should wait a little longer.-"

"Nonononono," Theo said sitting up and gripping Liam's thighs. "No. I think we need to do it now. I'm ready. Are you ready? I think you're ready. Let's do it."

Liam felt Theo's errection already stiff against him. It was very... really... extremely tempting. He definitely wanted that. He could see himself having that... like now. Right now. He bit his lip trying to draw himself back to what he was going to say. "I think we..." Liam gasped when Theo sucked at his jaw. Damn. That was making it hard. It was making _him_ hard. "We need to wait!" Liam spit out forcefully.

Theo pulled back and squirmed a little. "I don't want to."

"Hear me out," Liam said taking his fingers and wiping them across Theo's lip. "Let's wait until my birthday." Liam saw the gears turning in Theo's head. "Think about it. You're eighteen. Once it's my birthday, I'll be eighteen so... it'll be legal. And... like... what if it's like a birthday present, you know? That... that would be a really nice birthday present." 'That' being Theo's virginity.

Theo was staring at Liam with a blank expression.

"Theo?"

"...oh my god. That's like... romantic," Theo said removing his hands from Liam's ass, yes, that's where they had been, and moving them to Liam's back. He had a dumbfounded, awestruck look on his face that was totally throwing off Liam.

"What... does that mean-"

"Let's wait," Theo said nodding his head. "I-I think that... that I want to... give you..." Theo swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. Let's do that."

Liam furrowed his brows at Theo. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah..." Theo said, eyes still wide with awe. "I just..." Theo smiled. "I like your idea because it's not only really hot and sexy but also really... really... um..."

Liam chuckled at how weird Theo was being about talking about romance. He probably wasn't used to it yet. "Sweet and romantic?"

"And intimate," Theo said nodding. "I... I'm kinda nervous now."

Liam smiled and kissed him on the nose. "Don't be nervous. You're gonna do great. It's gonna be fantastic. It's..." Liam had to say it. He had to. "It's gonna be slick."

That made Theo relax. He chuckled and leaned against Liam, snuggling into his chest. "You're pretty amazing, you know that?"

"I'm OK," Liam said nonchalantly. A second later, he received a flick to his nipple. "Ow! Hey. You're supposed to be nice to those!"

"Apparently, I can't do that until you're eighteen," Theo sassed.

"Well, you can," said Liam. "It's just not exactly...-"

"Legal? Yeah. I didn't even think about that."

"I mean, it's not like you're gonna get arrested. I'm literally a year younger than you."

"I think it's a little more than a year," said Theo.

"Why? When's your birthday?"

"....uh..." Theo cringed. "I don't know. My birth certificate is fake."

"Your birth certi-Why?"

Theo shrugged. "I don't know. By the time I figured it out, my real parents were never around for me to ask."

"That's weird," said Liam. "Like what if you're actually twenty years old and you don't even know it."

Theo stared at Liam with his brows furrowed. "Let's just pretend that my birth certificate is accurate..." Theo said. "I'm almost two years older than you."

"What if you're adopted?" Liam asked. "Like illegally adopted."

"I'm not adopted," Theo said abruptly. "Actually,... I fuckin' hope I'm adopted. It would explain why I'm so messed up."

Liam sighed. "We're all messed up."

"I guess..." said Theo. Theo sighed. Now the sexual tension had left for the most part. That wouldn't last very long with how much Liam kept putting taking care of it off. But Theo was a sap. He could wait a little while longer if it made it special. "I'm gonna get my jammies on."

The cute way he said it made Liam laugh. "Me too."

They got in a little tussle while they were stripping down to their boxers. Nothing serious. Just friendly play fighting between boyfriends. Jenna would get after them for rough housing too much so they had to keep it down. "Shut up. Let's just go to sleep," Liam snapped at his boyfriend.

"OK," said Theo snuggling under the blankets. "But only if you cuddle me."

Liam chuckled. "Why would I want to do that?" Liam wrapped his arms around Theo's torso and gave him a kiss on the nose. "Why are you like this?" Liam reached his hand up to Theo's cheek and pinched it. "Why are you so cute?"

Theo laughed and rolled his eyes. "Don't call me cute."

Liam sighed and brought his hands down to Theo's side where they had been originally. "Fine. Alright." Liam went from pinching Theo's cheeks to pinching his love handles and giving him little kisses all over his face. Liam enjoyed the way Theo just let him do it, the way he soaked up every once of love he was given. It was so sweet. And even the tiny bit of insecurity was cute. It was pretty obvious that Theo was gaining weight. At first, Theo didn't even seem to notice. But Liam had caught him glaring at himself in the mirror a few times in the last week. Theo needed to know how beautiful he really was and Liam would be happy to show him.

All was peaceful and quiet until Theo jerked up into a sitting position and threw the blanket over his head. "Theo-"

"She's attacking my feet!" Theo yelled from under the blanket. Liam smiled when Theo yelled and let out some laughter. After Theo cackled some, Liam had to see it for himself. He got under the blankets too and played with the kitten. They did that for at least fifteen minutes before the kicked S'mores of the bed to go play somewhere else. She woke them up a few times in the night because she was able to claw her way up onto the bed and attack their feet. Theo thought it was the sweetest thing but after it happened twice when Liam was about to fall asleep, he got angry and told Theo to lock her out. Liam regretted that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it.


	15. Chapter 15

Theo flapped his arms up and down, causing his gown to make a swooshing noise. He let out a giggle, bless his pure heart, when Liam copied his movements. They'd just arrived at the school and put on their graduation gowns over the clothes they had gone and bought just for this occasion.

They were both wearing white button up shirts and dress pants. Theo's were a kakki color, held up by a brown belt. Liam's dress pants were black and Jenna made a fuss over them because Liam had decided to play with the kitten before they left and there was cat hair on him now. She had also made a fuss over both of the boys' hair. They were both given fresh hair cuts and Jenna begged Theo to shave but he was feeling very attached to his beard. So instead he just trimmed it extra neat. Jenna didn't complain.

Another thing Jenna made a fuss over, was Liam's tie. They didn't like the stigma of being those boyfriends who matched clothes. They'd already done it before on accident and it was just weird. So they agreed that they would get different ties. Coordinating with your boyfriend for special events wasn't that bad. Their ties were the same color and even the same brand, but Liam's was a bow tie. Theo would've gladly worn the bow tie if Liam didn't want to, but Jenna insisted that Liam wear it and he didn't argue.

Living with the Geyers was always an adventure.

Jenna got out of the car and gave them 'the look.' "Boys, you're graduating high school, not Kindergarten. Stop that. You're going to embarrass me."

Theo and Liam stopped acting like a couple little boys who had never worn a dress. Technically, they were a couple of little boys who had never worn a dress. "Yes, Ma'am," Theo said knowing full well that it would annoy Liam's mother. She didn't like being called 'Ma'am' because it made her feel like an old lady. She ended up smacking Theo on the back of them head. "Hey. Why'd you do that? I called you 'Mom'," he lied playfully.

She rolled her eyes and shoved at him playfully. "Oh, honey. You're cute and you can get away with a lot but I am well aware of your tricks by now."

"Tricks? Why? Whatever do you mean, Mrs. Geyer?" This time Jenna just pointed at him threateningly. He put his hands up in defense. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he said with a smile still plastered to his face. They came to a slow stop as they neared the rows of white chairs set up in the lacross feild. "But you are my mom so I have to tease you."

Of course, she had to put her arm around his shoulder and kiss him on the cheek making Theo cringe and smile at the same time. "I need to tease you too, sweetie."

Theo complained as he wiped her lipstick off of his face. Liam also complained because he suddenly had lipstick on his face as well. It was a bit ironic because they would never really have to worry about getting lipstick on each other because they didn't really wear it. But Liam's mom... their mom was a whole different story.

"Mom, you're not gonna cry, are you?" Liam said trying not to sound too much like a snobby teenager.

Jenna already had tears welling up in her eyes. "How can I not, sweetie? I'm so proud of you." Jenna carefully wiped at her eyes, trying to avoid runny mascara. Then she looked at Theo and smiled. "I'm so proud of both of you."

Theo smiled one of those Classic Theo smiled of his and even blushed a little. He'd been living with the Geyers for a while but until he'd gone to the hospital, they weren't so much parents to him. Once he'd started dating Liam, though, it was so weird. David and Jenna were so kind and supportive. They cared about him a lot and it was one of those things that sort of turned his world around. He hadn't even thought about it. They did it without him noticing. But David and Jenna were so important to him now. He was still getting used to the idea of having parents but he liked it a lot. It was something that had been missing from his life for about as long as he could remember. Having them and Liam made his wolf feel nice and warm inside.

Jenna fanned her faced and breathed in her nose like she was trying to control her emotions. "OK. Come here. Let me hug you." She wrapped an arm around each boy and held them really tight. "I love you two." She pulled back giving them both another kiss on their cheeks, leaving even more lipstick on them. "OK. I'm gonna go sit down. Your dad will be here soon. You guys go do what you're supposed to do. I'm gonna take lots of pictures. Make sure you smile nice and big alright?"

"Yes, mom," Liam said. "You can go now." He defintiely sounded like a snobby teenager. But Jenna didn't react or comment. She was probably used to it by now. Besides, she was too preoccupied with her weapiness to care about the tone of his voice.

Theo turned to Liam and chuckled. "You got lipstick on your face."

"So do you," said Liam. They both ended up reaching their hands up and brushing at each other's cheeks until it was all gone. It was a rather domestic thing to do but... that's what they were now, wasn't it? "People are gonna be surprised to see you," Liam said stepping closer so they weren't very far apart. If anyone were to see them, they'd have to know that They were together. It had to be obvious. "You'll also get some hugs too. Even though you haven't been to school at all in the last month, people have still been talking about you."

"...really?" Theo asked. He'd never thought to ask if people even cared about him at school. He didn't really know anybody well enough. At least no one in the grade they were in. He was supposed to graduate with Scott's class. He knew a lot of people in that grade but not in Liam's.

"Yeah," said Liam. "And the pack is gonna be here too. Don't forget."

"I know," said Theo. "Lydia told me her and Stiles were on their way." He let out a sigh looking down at his phone. "I'm sad now."

"What? Why?"

"Because my last name starts with an 'R' and yours starts with a 'D' so we don't get to sit next to each other," Theo said pouting. "I don't even know who I'm gonna be sitting by."

Liam rolled his eyes. "Theo, you're gonna be fine. We'll get to make out when it's over. It'll be worth it."

"I do like making out with you," Theo said as if he were really thinking about it, deciding whether or not to be upset about not sitting next to Liam. "Let's just not sit down until we absolutely have to."

"I'm OK with that," said Liam lacing his fingers with Theo's before he leaned in and kissed him on the lips. They definitely hadn't really kissed in this public of a place before. There had been that time when Theo was all hyped on caffeine and really wanted to go for it. But there wasn't anyone around to actually see it. But here, half of the guest seats were full and it looked like most of the seniors were already there. The thought of kissing in front of so many people was a little embarrassing but also sweet.

They pulled back when they heard some of Liam's teammates whistling and cheering. "Get it, Dunbar!"

They both laughed turning towards the small gang of lacrosse players standing in the middle of the aisle. Liam raised a hand and flipped them off making Theo gasp and pull his hand down. "What are you doing?"

"What? It's a lacrosse thing," Liam said. "We do it all the time."

"People are watching," Theo said through his teeth. "I mean... not that I care what people think-"

Liam raised his eyebrows to challenge Theo.

Theo cleared his throat. "I care a little bit about what people think..."

Liam bobbed his head. "Yeah. I think you do."

"I do," Theo admitted sounding irritated. "I just wish I didn't."

"Uh huh," said Liam. He leaned in an kissed him on the cheek. "I love you though. So my opinion is more relevant than everyone elses."

"Well, I guess that's because you love me for who I am, not who I should be." Theo laced his fingers with Liam's.

"You're exactly who you should be, Theo." He gave him another kiss that was interupted by a familiar voice.

"Come on. You two get a room," Mason's voice rang out calling their attention to him and Corey approaching. Liam and Theo turned and smiled at them in greetings. "I think most of the pack is here. You guys want to come say hi with us?"

Liam and Theo joined Mason and Corey as they greeted the rest of the pack and visited for a few minutes before they had to go sit down. Liam felt like a mother leaving her crying child at school for the first time when he had to part ways with Theo. Sure, Theo wasn't crying but he was definitely anxious. This crowd of people was putting him on edge.

Liam didn't want to leave Theo just as much as Theo didn't want Liam to leave him. But Theo told him it was alright and that they'd only be sitting their for like half an hour. Liam literally stood next to him and until someone from administration had to tell Liam to go sit in his spot. Theo knew Liam was being protective of him and it, honestly, warmed his heart. He knew he'd be doing the same if Liam were the one who was anxious.

The speech wasn't too long to Theo's surprise. He didn't have to sit in that chair in between two strangers for as long as he thought he would. Once they started the prossecion, Theo got really nervous. He didn't understand why he was nervous. There was no logical reason for him to be nervous but his heart was racing and he hated it. He saw Liam turn his head around from up front to look at him. He rolled his eyes. Of course, Liam was listening to his heart beat. Or couse, he would turn around and look at him if he thought something was off.

It was hard enough trying to sort out his nervousness on his own. But with Liam knowing he was nervous it didn't help. It honestly just added pressure because he knew it was going to stress Liam out and Liam would make it a big deal.

Maybe he didn't like the idea of walking up in front of people. Just the thought made him nauseous. Yeah. He definitely didn't like that. Now he wanted to go home. And cry. And never leave.

But then he heard the whisper. "Theo..."

Theo looked back to where Liam had been sitting. There he was, looking back at him, smiling. And the world stopped. All the noise that was overwhelming Theo was cancelled out by the whisper, the sight of Liam's lips, the fire in his eyes.

"I love you."

In an instant, he was calm. His heart rate returned to its normal speed. His hands became steady. He could think again. He could breathe. He was that even possible? All it took for all the pressure to release, was Liam. His voice, his whisper, his touch. That smile...

Nobody would ever understand Theo like Liam did. No one could ever love him like Liam did. It was in that moment that Theo _knew_ for a fact that they were going to be together for as long as both of them lived. He was sure he'd always known subconsciously but acknowledging it purposefully and making yourself of aware of it made it feel so much more real, so much more satisfying.

He hated that he couldn't be near Liam to kiss him right now. Or at least hold his hand. But knowing, consciously, that he had the rest of their lives to do that, Theo told himself he could wait until this was over. He didn't need to have Liam right there with him in the moment to have him. Theo would always have Liam.

He smiled to himself think about how Liam was now a part of him. He was definitely the easiest part of himself to love that was for sure. But it made it easier to love the rest of himself. 

* * *

After everyone had received their diplomas, they all moved their tassles across their caps. Theo never understood the ritual but some people are really into that kind of thing. As soon as it happened, everyone cheered and through their caps in the air. Theo wasn't about that though. He escaped to the side of the feild where he found Liam.

Theo wrapped his arms around Liam and spun him in a circle before They kissed. He never thought he'd actually feel joy after graduating high school but he did. It was nice. Mostly because high school sucked.

"I love you," Liam told him once their lips parted. Liam had that wonderful, puppy smile on his face. Theo loved that smile. He loved it when Liam didn't look like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Theo bit his lip and smiled. "I love me too, Liam." Theo saw the tears welling up in Liam's eyes after he said that. It was a big deal, Theo loving himself. Obviously, it wasn't something that would just automatically make everything better but it would help both of them so much if Theo loved himself. "I mean... I still hate myself as much as everyone hates themselves but I love myself too. And it's all because of you."

Liam sniffled and pressed their foreheads together. "I'm so happy for you, Theo."

"I love you, Liam," Theo said sounding almost desperate. "I love you so much. You have no idea."

Liam just shook his head smiling. It's not like he could really respond to that at all. Not with words. So he kissed him again.

He kissed him until he was told not to so Liam's mother could get a picture of them together without them making out. Because apparently, one was enough. It didn't ruin their moment though. They were both too happy for anything to ruin their moment. They got some more pictures, then some with Mason and Corey and a bunch of oack members.

Derek had shown up and he apologized to Theo for punching him in the face. They agreed to just start over completely. It was kinda of a surprise that he was there at all. But he may have just been their because a lot of the McCall pack was there and he wanted to see them.

Theo ended up getting hugs from like a billion people and he suddenly decided that he did not like getting hugs. Like, people shouldn't be allowed to touch him unless they were Liam. The hugs from the pack he didn't mind. Some of them were a bit awkward. Namely, the hug from Malia. It seemed a bit forced. He could tell she still didn't really like him but... he didn't really like her either so... they could just not like each other in peace.

Stiles made fun of Liam's bow tie and Theo did nothing to defend him. He just laughed with Stiles cause he's a nice boyfriend like that. Plus, he bonded with Stiles. Bonding felt nice. Even if it threw Liam under the bus sometimes. He had lots of time to bond with Liam. Like a lot of time. Pretty much all of the time.

Theo showed Lydia the necklas Liam had gotten for him. They ended up talking for a bit while Liam talked with Scott. "I'm really happy for you, Liam. For both of you."

Liam smiled. "Thanks."

"I'm proud of you too."

"..."

"Sometimes a pack is so busy protecting each other that they can forget about protecting their allies," Scott said. "I know you won't do that ever because it's one of your weaknesses. But it's what's going to make you a great alpha one day. You proved that with Brett and Lori and now with Theo. Especially, with Theo. You care about people for who they are, not who they were or who they should be, and you don't do it blindly."

"...you really think I'll be an alpha one day?" Liam asked curiously.

Scott smirked and gently patted his arm playfully. "I think you already are, Liam. You just don't have the eyes yet."

Apparently, Mason had been listening in on their conversation the way he often tended to do and he started nodding his head excitedly. "Sick." Liam just laughed and shoved Mason to the side where they started goofing off about something. No one understood what they were talking about but when Theo walked up to Liam eventually all her heard was Liam say, "Nipples is the home of the sex drive."

Liam hadn't seen Theo approaching when he said it so he kinda jumped when Theo questioned him from behind. Mason widened his eyes, smiling really bright. "So I'll have that for you tomorrow night."

Liam sighed, a faint blush presencing itself on his cheeks. As Mason walked away, Theo raised an eye brow at Liam. "What was that about?"

"Uh... Just an early birthday present... I guess?"

"What is it?"

"Mm. You don't want to know," Liam said in a low voice, really hoping his parents weren't anywhere near to question him. "But you will. Eventually. Just like... not yet."

"...is it bad then?"

"What? No," said Liam. "Why would a birthday present be bad?"

"Why wouldn't I want to know about it?"

"Because. Just trust me," said Liam. "I mean, when the time comes, you will be happy to know about it but like... now isn't the time-"

"Is this about...?" Theo shut his mouth and squinted at Liam suspriciously. "You guys were talking about sex when I came over here. I know that much. But like..."

"Please do not make me talk about it right now," Liam pleaded. He was totally embarrassed about whatever this birthday present was. The embarassment was all Theo needed to know what it was. Especially if it had to do with sex. Theo had a knowing look on his face now. Liam didn't like it. It made him feel uncomfortable. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" Theo said, maintain the expression on his face ever so confidently.

"Like that." Theo tried not to laugh but in the end, he did. He honestly loved making Liam uncomfortable. It was so... satisfying. Especially when he pouted.

* * *

After more pictures were taken, everyone went out to dinner. Liam and Theo tagged along but not for long. They went home well before everyone else. It was understandable though. They were a couple. They wanted to celebrate just the two of them alone. Also, Liam wanted to give Theo tummy kisses and that was an awkward thing to do in front of other people.

Theo was laying flat on the bed with his arms behind his head. "So like... does everybody see colors the same?"

Liam didn't understand why Theo was thinking about this. "What do you mean?" He was laying right next to Theo, almost on top of him. His leg and arm were thrown across Theo's body and gripping him tightly.

"Like what if when I see blue, you actually see green but to you, it's just called blue?"

"...I don't know how to respond to that," Liam admitted after contemplating for a moment. "I'm not very smart. I couldn't figure that out."

Theo furrowed his brows at Liam and shook his head. "You're smart."

"Not as smart as you, though," said Liam sneakily undoing one of the buttons on Theo's shirt.

Theo shook his head. "You're very smart, Liam. A lot smarter than you think you are. I mean... you don't always act smart but... do I always act like I'm insecure? No. Does that mean I don't have insecurities? Hell no."

"I don't like that," said Liam pressing his face into Theo's neck and giving him a kiss.

"Hm?"

"I don't like it when you pretend to be confident," said Liam in a soft voice. He'd undone enough buttons by then to slide his hand into Theo's shirt and run his hand along Theo's tummy. "I like when you _are_ confident."

Theo knew very well that Liam was going to play with him. He liked to do that. To get him riled up and then tell him he had to wait. It was freakin' annoying. But he didn't have to wait much longer. Liam would be eighteen in less than fourty eight hours and once that happened, Theo had no reason to be told to wait.

Sure enough, a moment later, Liam was kissing Theo's stomach. It wasn't unusual for Liam to do that at all. It was a way for Liam to be both sexy and cuddly. Tummy kisses were vital to their relationship now. All kinds of kisses were vital to their relationship. Liam tended to be a little needy when it came to that. Sure, Theo was technically the one with love hunger problems but Liam was the one who couldn't keep his hands off of Theo and relished the feelings he got when Theo laid his hands on him.

Liam suddenly sat up and scooted himself back to where he was. "Hey, so I wanna talk logistics." Liam bit his lip when Theo gave him a wary look. "I know it's awkward but... I feel like we just need to know beforehand so that... we're prepared."

Theo sighed exasperatedly. "No. I know what you mean. It can be a little complicated with our... I mean cause..." Suddenly they were both sitting up, awkwardness radiating throughout the room. "I want to know what you're comfortable with."

"Me?" Liam asked, almost like he was confused. "I'm more concerned about what you're comfortable with."

"As far as I know, everything," Theo said. "I have no sexual experiences, good or bad, what-so-ever. I'm pretty much a blank slate. I could be into just about anything as long as I have the right partner."

"Really?" Liam asked.

Theo shrugged his shoulders and ran a hand across the back of his neck. "Well... almost anything. Like... we both know I have a horrible gag reflex so I think there are definitely a few things-"

"Well, luckily, I'd rather you use your hand anyways," Liam interrupted.

"Really?"

"I already told you... I like your hands."

"....well, that works out nicely," Theo said.

"But that still doesn't really tell us anything," Liam said. "I mean... what I want to know is like..." Liam cringed. "Why is this talk so uncomfortable?"

"It doesn't have to be uncomfortable," said Theo truthfully. "We're the ones who are making it uncomfortable. Let's make it comfortable. Let's make it... enjoyable."

Liam let out a sigh and looked at Theo pleadingly. "OK. How?"

Theo honestly didn't know for sure what he could do. Why did they even need to have this conversation? Obviously, Liam wouldn't have brought it up if he didn't have a problem with it. Theo already told Liam that he wasn't really concerned. That meant that Liam was having trouble coming forward about something that was concerning him.

So he just kissed him. At first, it was forced. It was awkward. Just like the atmosphere. But the more he kissed him, the looser things got. "Theo, I don't see how this is helping," Liam said as Theo started kissing along his chin and then down his neck.

Theo moved to sit in Liam's lap, staddling him with his legs. "Tell me what it is you want," Theo said, hands wrapping around Liam's arms and pulling him close. Theo ran his hands down Liam's arms and to his hand, pulling them around his hips. He placed them loosely on his ass before grabbing Liam's shoulders. Theo vaguely rememered Liam mentioning something to Mason about nipples earlier in the day. Maybe that was something Liam liked. So Theo ran his hand up Theo's neck and into his hair tugging at it gently before he pulled Liam's face into his chest.

It took a moment, but Liam gripped Theo's ass and pulled him closer so he could get a little taste of that. "Do you like this?" Liam couldn't respond verbally. The only repsonse Theo got was Liam giving him a hickey on the side of his neck. "Me too."

"I don't want to stop," Liam said, eyes lids getting a little heavy with euphoria.

"OK," said Theo ripping himself off of Liam like a bandaid. He plopped flat on his side of the bed again. "We figured things out. Good night, babe. Love you."

Liam let out a horrible sound of betrayel. "Nononono. That was so good. Come back. You're so warm." Liam chased after Theo's touch and scrambled to lay flush against him. He immediately grabbed Theo's hand and started kissing it.

"I can't do like you do, Liam, and just get all hot and rilled up and then put a stop to it. It's torture. I'm putting an end to this madness. No more sexiness until you are offically 18.-"

Liam let out a moan as he sucked on one of Theo's fingers.

"Get that out of your mouth," Theo snapped and pulled his hand away. "I said no more.-"

"I don't want to wait anymore-"

"Don't give me that crap," Theo sassed. "You made me wait this long. Now you're saying you don't want to. You're gonna wait. Just know, this is what rejection feels like."

Liam let out a whine wrapping himself around Theo. "Theo."

"Revenge is a bitch," Theo snapped. His coyote had somehow become Theo's prominent personality making him a sassy bitch. It should probably be less of a turn on for Liam than it was. It also shouldn't be so cute. Liam let out a little giggle when Theo turned his head towards him and said in a cold voice, "Suffer."

"No," Liam whined, though he was laughing as he did so. "Daddy wants his marshmallow."

"Don't call yourself that," Theo said cringing. "And stop laughing. This isn't funny."

"Yeah. It is," Liam said shaking with laughter. "Because you think you're so mean making me wait one more day."

" _You're_ mean for making _me_ wait all this time," Theo hissed back.

Liam's laughter died down and he placed a kiss on Theo's cheek. "I'm sorry, baby. I know. I know. I only did it to protect you, alright? I don't want you to get into trouble." Liam plastered a bunch of kisses to Theo's cheek and forehead. "Alright?" Theo glared at him for a moment before he sighed and gave in to cuddling Liam.

* * *

The get-together with the pack the night before Liam's birthday was nice. Pretty much the whole pack was there. Even some extended pack decided to show up. There were of course boos laced with wolfsbane so things could get a little interesting. Right when Theo and Liam showed up, they were offered drinks and Theo almost accepted because, despite what a lot of people thought, he was easy to give into peer pressure.

"Uh. No you don't," Liam said grabbing Theo's hand and pushing it aside before he could accept the drink. "We've talked about this. You can't handle your prescriptions. You can't handle caffeine. We're not taking our chances with alcohol."

Theo sighed. He knew Liam was right. They had talked about it before. He'd agreed not to touch any form of substance that could potentially threaten his recovery. That, and if anyone at the clinic found out that he had abused alcohol, he'd have to start his treatment over from the beginning. It was a good thing he had Liam. It was even better because Liam promised he wouldn't drink or do any kind of non-prescribed drug as long as Theo didn't. Now that was accountability.

"Right," said Theo. "I'll have a diabetes drink instead."

Liam rolled his eyes. "He means soda. And FYI, alcohol is probably just as likely to give you diabetes as soda is."

Malia, the one who had offered them the drinks, looked at both of them like they were crazy. Theo and Malia still hadn't really made amends with each other. Her offering the drinks had probably been her first effort over this whole time. She tended to hold a grudge and... frankly, so did Theo. Sure, he somehow managed to make up with Stiles but there was this weird... tension between Malia and Theo. Everyone chalked it down to them both being part coyote. Apparently, snappy bitches just don't like each other.

Theo used to be afraid of her. He wasn't anymore though. It was just weird to be around her.

Malia forced a smile. "Coke is over there," she said pointing towards the McCall back porch where an assortment of food and drink was. Liam knew if he didn't snag Theo up and drag him somewhere else, he'd probably try and dig a little deeper on Malia's hostility than he should. So he thanked Malia and pulled Theo towards the drink table and helped him make something.

Liam was sipping his drink through a straw when Theo just blurted out, "Malia's a bitch."

Liam choked and spat out his drink a little, glaring at Theo. "Theo," he chided.

Theo looked at him and raised his hands in a questioning manner. "What? I'm just being honest. I don't like her."

Liam was about to scold him and give him a lesson on how to make friends but he just decided against it. It was Theo's coyote talking. There was no convincing him. He sighed and sipped at his drink again.

"That doesn't mean I wouldn't risk my life for her though," said Theo in a softer voice getting Liam's attention. "I mean... I'm allowed to not like someone and not get along with them but still tolerate them, right?"

Liam looked at him and bobbed his head. "Yeah. I guess. But... just don't be so positive about not liking her quite yet. You guys have a lot more in common than you think."

Theo let out a short sigh that almost sounded huffy. "Maybe that's why I don't like her."

Liam set his drink down on the table and took Theo by the hand. "Come on. Let's go have some fun. It'll be good for you." Liam took Theo toward the fire pit in the backyard that everyone was gathered around, talking, and laughing. Some people were hugging. Some were dancing. Malia and Stiles were already drunk enough to be laughing at something that wasn't even funny.

"Oh. Liam," said Scott walking up to them. "I have someone I want you to meet. This is Isaac. I think I told you about him, right? He's an old friend."

Liam smiled and offered a hand to Isaac. "I have heard a little about you."

Isaac smiled and shook his hand. Liam suddenly wondered when he started shaking hands with people. That seemed like such an old man thing to do. "I've heard a little about you too, Liam. It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Liam said smiling. He motioned to Theo. "This is my boyfriend, Theo.-"

"Certainly hope you haven't heard of me," Theo said bitterly.

"I have but, luckily, you're not the only who has dabbled in villainy," Isaac said offering Theo a smile. "Somehow the McCall pack has a way of turning badboys into into goodguys."

Theo smiled at Liam. "You know what they say. Every guy has a badboy who will be good just for them." Theo poked Liam in the side and made him blush. "At least, I used to be a badboy. Now I'm just a nerd with an eating disorder and a boyfriend. Funny how things work out, huh?"

It was kinda nice that Liam got to meet Isaac after hearing about him a few times. It made him feel more like he was part of the pack. And the way Scott introduced him seemed different. It was like he was showing him off to Isaac or something. Like he was... proud? Scott must've really meant what he'd said after graduation about him being an alpha.

"Whatcha thinking?" Theo asked while Liam watched the pack converse with each other.

Liam shrugged. "Uh... yesterday Scott was talking about..." Liam squinted and looked down at his shoes. It was a weird thing to actually thing about. "Me being an alpha."

"Really? What did he say?"

"He said..." Liam looked at Theo questioningly, like maybe he didn't believe it yet. "He said that maybe I already am and I just don't have the eyes to go with it yet."

Theo could see the misunderstanding look on Liam's face, like maybe he just couldn't grasp the idea of himself being an alpha. At least not yet. It made Theo want to laugh being sometimes when he was with Liam, all he felt was the presence of an alpha. "Well, you should know that you're my alpha."

"Am I?"

Theo nodded, bumping his shoulder into Liam's. "I'm pretty sure you're my alpha. I mean... I owe everything to you. You'll always be my alpha. You have to be. Even if you're not an actual alpha yet. You're mine." Liam blushed when Theo wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed him. "I mean it."

Neither of them noticed Lydia and a very drunk Stiles pointing at the two of them and talking about how cute they were being.

The rest of the evening played out like a normal pack get-together. There were games. There were fights, both verbal and physical. There were songs with horribly awkward dancing. There were couples being territorial over each other. It was basically an obnoxious family reunion. It was fun cause you love your family... but you couldn't wait to get home to some peace and quiet.

At one point, Nolan dumped beer all over Theo and started crying about it because he felt so bad. Theo patted Nolan's back. "Hey, it's OK. Don't worry about it, buddy. I know you didn't mean it." Apparently, Nolan was one of the weepy drunks. It was funny but sad at the same time. It wasn't a big deal until Nolan vomited at his feet. Theo cringed and closed his eyes. "That's slightly less OK."

Theo tried to be OK with comforting him because he felt very sympathetic towards the kid but he couldn't find the strength to open his eyes knowing there was vomit right there. How did Liam even deal with him? That's so disgusting.

"OK. And that's our cue to go home," said Liam wrapping his arms around Theo from behind and pulling him to his feet.

"Yeah. That's a good idea," said Theo as Liam hauled his ass out of there. It was kinda overkill how protective Liam could be sometimes. The snap of a twig and he was getting Theo out of there. On one hand, it was sweet how much Liam took into consideration when it came to Theo's anxiety and eating disorder. But, on the other hand, Theo hardly got the chance to say goodbye to the pack before they were already in the car. That's where he noticed the wretched smell of the beer that had soaked into his clothes. "I need to shower now.

As far as Theo knew, that night would end after he took a shower. There was a slim chance that Liam might want to ask if Nolan throwing up made him feel like he'd been triggered or something but Liam was more likely to wait until morning to ask so he could get some rest first.

Morning.

No. Liam wouldn't ask him in the morning. At least not at first. Morning would mean it was Liam's birthday. Which meant Liam would be 18. And they were both the horniest in the morning. Which meant they'd probably be having sex first thing in the morning. The thought titillated Theo to the point where he felt butterflies in his stomach.

Now Theo couldn't wait to get home and go to sleep so morning would get there sooner. But Mason had to go and stop them. Liam rolled down the passenger side window and Mason showed up with a smirk on his face. "You almost forgot your present," Mason said smacking a box against Liam's chest. "Don't open it until you get home."

Liam sighed. "Mason..." Liam looked at Mason warily. He looked embarrassed, like maybe he was going to get mad at Mason for doing it or give it back. But he cleared his throat and blinked a few times before forcing out the words. "Thanks."

Mason patted his shoulder. "Oh. Anytime. That's what best friends are for." It was blatantly obvious that Mason was rubbing it in Liam's face and trying to embarrass him in front of his boyfriend. It was working. Mason could be good at embarrassing Liam. Probably more than even his own mother was capable of.

Liam could feel Theo grinning at him as he rolled the window back up. "It's not funny."

"It is though."

"What was I supposed to do?" Liam asked. "My parents don't want to know that we're having sex. Neither of us has the money to go buy the stuff. We'd have to ask my parents which would mean they would know. Mason's parents happen to be totally OK with him and Corey having sex. I just asked him a simple favor. Don't judge me."

Theo turned the engine over and shook his head. "Gotta love Mason." As Theo started to pull out of the driveway, he had to point out to Liam that "I'm sure your parents would've been OK with it if we talked to them about it-"

"There is no way in hell I am ever going to talk to my parents about _that_."


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys
> 
> It's been ages since I added to this story and for that I am so sorry. And since it's been so long, it's possible that my writing style has changed and I may have lost the feel for these characters a bit but I need to finish it. I just need to wrap it up with a short chapter and hopefully it will work well
> 
> PLEASE READ NOTES AT END! VERY IMPORTANT!

"Morning, pup."

The sun showed through the window and bounced off Liam's skin making him look like an angle. To Theo, he really was an angel. And angle with amazing lips, perfect lips, lips that he'd thirsted for every day of his life. And now he'd finally got a taste, more than a taste. He'd gotten his fair share, more than that too. When Liam opened his eyes that morning, Theo felt a shiver go up his spine.

They were so blue, so vibrant. So much more than they had been last time Theo had seen them. Had Theo done that to him? Could loving like they did change the color of someone's eyes and make them so vibrant. He'd like to think it could.

"Hey," Liam said, snuggling up close to his love and giving him a kiss on the lips, wrapping his big, strong arms around his precious Marshmallow. Theo was so sweet. "Did you sleep good?"

Theo smiled. "I slept better than I ever have," he said, a flirtatious smirk on his lips. He returned Liam's kiss and smiled. "It couldn't have been better."

They'd planned on waiting until the morning but when Theo came into Liam's room after his shower, it was already fifteen minutes past midnight. Liam was officially 18. Theo had no reason to wait anymore. So they did it. Theo was officially not a virgin anymore. "And you're still just as innocent as you were before," Liam said brushing back a lock of Theo's hair and looking into his eyes, his wolf eyes.

Theo chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't say that."

"Really?" Liam challenged.

"Well, yeah. You're very possessive."

Liam snuggled and huffed. "You haven't seen anything yet."

Theo's journey wasn't over. He was still going to battle with his Eating Disorder, probably for the rest of his life. There were still unsolved problems that he had to fix and battles he was in the middle of fighting, winning. But he had hope. With Liam, the burden was shared. He had someone he could trust and rely on when he was having a hard time. And with Liam, he didn't have to handle the pressure of it all. He could let go and take the time to find himself again. And with Liam, he was learning to love himself. Slowly but surely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yep
> 
> I told you it was short but it's been so long that I forgot what my plan was for this and I really hope I didn't break any promises to you guys.
> 
> This fic actually really helped me. At the time, I was just like Theo. I didn't have an eating disorder but I was struggling with accepting myself and loving myself even in all my mistakes. I guess I couldn't figure out how to end it because I hadn't gotten to that part yet in my own journey. Now I'm realizing that I couldn't really end it because maybe there is no ending.
> 
> This story was all really just a beginning that I'll never be able to finish.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this and that it inspired you! I really want to encourage you to evaluate how you feel about yourself. If you're struggling with self-love or self-doubt, anything, just take a step back and admire your imperfections for a minute. Allow yourself to be content with who you are right now.
> 
> Because you're important
> 
> Love you guys so much! Thank you, everyone, who made it this far! It means so much to me. This was one of the first Thiam fics I ever started and I am so happy to have finally found a way to close this chapter.
> 
> Special shout out to Kane! I know we haven't talked in forever but you really helped me a lot when I was writing this. You inspired me so much and I am so grateful for that. Go check out his work @ VulsungartheMighty . I can honestly say that if it weren't for him, I would never have gotten this far with this fic so THANK YOU SO MUCH
> 
> And thanks again to everyone else who read this story and left kudos and comments! It means the world to me!


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